Few College Ads Make the Grade

Friday, 19 November 2010 | by Pat's Picks

They’re called “institutionals.” And if you watch college football, you’ve seen them. They’re the 30-second ads colleges are allowed to inject into football telecasts and in today’s Wall Street Journal, they get reviewed.  Institutionals are a big deal for schools who would normally have to pay upwards of $100,000 to get such prime-time exposure.

A panel of advertising world heavy weights reviewed more than 120 ads and while most “could have used some serious editing or rethinking,” there were some gems. Iowa’s, for example, was narrated by Tom Browkaw, who briefly attended school there. And Missouri’s stood out because of an appearance by alum (and advertising industry heartthrob) John Hamm.

It was Minnesota, however, that pulled in the highest marks and they did so without any celebrities. Featuring a computer science professor, the panel said the ad “conveyed messages about research and diversity without beating the viewer over the head with them.”