Lee Corso Gets A Sponsor For His Mascot Picks Segment

Monday, August 11, 2008


I thought Home Depot owned all the advertising space within College Gameday but apparently I was wrong. ESPN has sold the naming rights for the Corso Picks segment (you know the one where Corso puts the mascot head on?) to Chick-Fil-A....

In the segment, ESPN analyst Lee Corso predicts the winning team by donning the mascot head or gear of one of the competing teams. It's the culmination of the show, drawing cheers or jeers from the crowd depending on Corso's pick.

Aptly enough, "GameDay's" first show this season will be in Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, an Aug. 30 matchup between the University of Alabama and Clemson University.

The move is significant for the chain of about 1,400 restaurants because it does little national advertising, choosing instead to focus on local and regional efforts.

College students, alumni and fans make a great audience for Chick-fil-A, said Steve Robinson, the company's senior vice president of marketing. "GameDay" and football tailgating create a lively atmosphere for marketing products, he said.

The agreement includes Chick-fil-A TV commercials during the show and a live shot of a Chick-fil-A fan interaction area. Event staff in "College GameDay" and Chick-fil-A co-branded uniforms will escort a crate carrying the mascot head for Corso's announcement.
And here they come to ruin the best show on the network! I can understand a main sponsor for the show, but naming a cheesy segment that no one really cares about it, is a little much. Soon they'll have cows bringing out the headgear to Corso, while Desmond Howard eats waffle fries. It's only a matter of time.

Chick-fil-A in pick 'em role on ESPN show (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

9 Comments:

What the hell are you complaining about? This is a great idea!

//The Budweiser Hot Seat

GMoney said...
Aug 11, 2008, 5:27:00 PM  

Yeah, ESPN, excellent way to not reveal your college football announce crews(including studio) two weeks before the season starts. Two weeks ago in her diary entry on her website, Bonnie Bernstein announced she'd be off the sideline because of health-related issues from a couple of years ago, thus assuming she'd be in the studio, thus assuming ESPN would announce their announce crews pronto, thus making it a lead-pipe cinch to announce their crews. Thanks for throwing the pipe back at our face, ESPN.

Unknown said...
Aug 11, 2008, 5:49:00 PM  

I'd talk to some more people. People, sadly, do care very much about what silly little mascot head Corso puts on.

FightingPike said...
Aug 11, 2008, 5:59:00 PM  

Lee Corso looks much better when being consumed by tiger.

Anonymous said...
Aug 11, 2008, 6:00:00 PM  

@cr:

You make it seem like ESPN has to announce who joins their staff on a daily basis.

/had no idea Tim Hasselbeck is an ESPN NFL analyst

And besides for Bonnie, "health-related issues" could also be code for "didn't want to deal with Paul Maguire again."

Aug 11, 2008, 6:17:00 PM  

http://www.preventdvt.org
"RickJamesBibleOwner" must be code for "moron" or something...

Anonymous said...
Aug 11, 2008, 6:32:00 PM  

And yet, somehow, I could remember to log-in and make my response.

Let me say this:
1) My mistake on Hasselbeck; I don't receive ESPN press releases.
2) I was aware of Bonnie Bernstein's condition, troll. It was an attempt at comedy (a failing one), much like this attempt at an analogy:

thus making it a lead-pipe cinch to announce their crews. Thanks for throwing the pipe back at our face, ESPN.

Aug 11, 2008, 7:41:00 PM  

If Truett and Dan Cathy ever find out that Corso wears a merkin, they'll cancel fast.

Anonymous said...
Aug 11, 2008, 7:43:00 PM  

when you are watching this sunday on dvr and crave chick-fil-a, there is only one problem.

it's closed. and that sucks.

Anonymous said...
Aug 12, 2008, 1:05:00 AM  

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