Johnny Manziel isn't Johnny Football when he's hungry. He's Johnny JamBoogie.
In this new Snickers ad from BBDO New York, the Cleveland Browns quarterback stars as a Spandex-clad man leading an aerobics class full of women. That is, until he's rescued by a teammate bearing a candy bar.
It's a variation on a joke that by now is familiar. Last year, the late, great Robin Williams possessed a football coach in a commercial for the brand. In another, Kenny G sat in for a boring storyteller. Before that, Joe Pesci, Don Rickles, Aretha Franklin, Betty White and Abe Vigoda all had their moments. This February, we learned that even Godzilla is a pretty fun guy when he isn't peckish.
But Manziel is topical, and his buffoonery helps keep the idea going.
USA Today, meanwhile, wonders why Snickers used an actor as his savior, instead of a second, actual Browns player. And on the ad's YouTube page, one armchair quarterback takes issue with a different point: "A better ending would have backup quarterback Manziel eating a Snickers bar and turning into starting quarterback Brian Hoyer."
Zing. Regardless, plenty of football fans seem to be getting a kick out of the clip—it has more than 500,000 views since being posted on Thursday.
CREDITS
Client: Snickers
Spot: "Johnny JamBoogie"
Agency: BBDO, New York
Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars
Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn
Executive Creative Directors: Gianfranco Arena, Peter Kain
Director of Integrated Production: David Rolfe
Group Executive Producer: Amy Wertheimer
Executive Producer: Alex Gianni
Producer: Patrick Smith
Executive Music Producer: Melissa Chester
Global Account Director: Susannah Keller
Account Director: Joshua Steinman
Account Manager: Dylan Green
Production Company: Radical
Director: Steve Miller
Executive Producers: Frank Scherma, Gregg Carlesimo
Producer: Barbara Benson
Production Supervisor: Ted Liotopoulos
Director of Photography: Mandy Walker
Production Designer: Tom Foden
Recording Studio: HeardCity
Mix House: Heard City
Audio Engineer: Philib Loeb
Editing House: Cutting Room
Editor, Managing Partner: Chuck Willis
Executive Producer: Melissa Lubin
Producer: Anna Petitti
Visual Effects House: Light of Day
Colorist: Tim Masick, Company 3
Music Track: "You're My Love"
