It’s every marketing event planner’s nightmare: Plan a big, attention-grabbing event to promote your client, and be upstaged by an even bigger event in the same venue.
Shortly before the end of the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Mark Roberts leaped out of the stands and tore off his clothes, revealing pretty much everything he had been born with, with the exception of the words “Super Bowel” [sic] and “GoldenPalace.com” which had been temporarily hennaed onto his back.
As anyone within 90 miles of a newspaper, television or Internet outlet now knows, Roberts was largely ignored in favor of a “wardrobe malfunction” during Janet Jackson’s halftime performance. Jackson staged her own revealing incident, which was timed suspiciously close to the release of her latest album.
I first read about Roberts’ streak several days after Super Bowl Sunday, and my heart went out to the promotions team at GoldenPalace.com. But Frederic Sebag, a press liaison at the online casino, was relentlessly upbeat about Roberts’ performance.
“He wasn’t overshadowed: I think he was competed with,” Sebag said. “But [Jackson] has a big name and he is just breaking into the States.”
Indeed, Roberts does have a certain amount of notoriety in England, as the majority of his 370-plus streaks have been done across the pond, where he makes his home.
While GoldenPalace.com did “help him out with expenses,” Roberts was not paid for his Super Bowl appearance, according to Sebag.
“He’s a freak,” said Sebag, explaining why Roberts would work pro bono for the online casino, as he has on at least half a dozen other occasions. (While Sebag wouldn’t comment, published reports claimed that after Roberts was tackled by New England Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham and carried off by security, GoldenPalace.com helped with his legal fees.)
Naturally, every marketer will want to know what the ROI on such activities is. The casino has signed up a few new enrollees since Super Bowl Sunday who, when asked how they had heard of the site, cited “television” or “streaker” or even “Mark Roberts”, Sebag said. But the actual worth of these new players won’t be established until after they play – and, assumedly, lose to the house.
The coverage of Roberts’ activities has been sporadic, at best. In a few instances reports mentioned him, but declined to name his sponsor, mentioning instead an anonymous online casino.
“That shows a lack of respect, a lack of class, if someone has the genius to pull a stunt like that,” grumbled Sebag, when I mentioned these stories to him.
Should Roberts read this column, I’d like to point out that the Direct Marketing Association’s annual conference will be held this October in New Orleans, which is sure to be a bit warmer than Houston in January. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
To respond to this column, please contact rlevey@primediabusiness.com
