At the Movies with The Rubber Chickens: #HereSC Video Review

It has been a while since our last movie review, just shy of two years to be precise. And to be fair this isn’t really a movie review, it’s a review of a “pump up” video for the 2014 Gamecock football season. But you’re hooked now, so you might as well keep reading.

 

In the new #HereSC video (we’ll get to that hashtag in a moment), the thing that immediately jumps out at me, again, is the stodgy old voiceover guy who should be doing yearly recap videos for the Green Bay Packers. He was used in the 2012 “It’s Great to Be a Gamecock” video, and also is the voice of the stadium in the Saturday pre-game video among other appearances.

While I didn’t like his voice in 2012, the choice is even more odd this time around because the video is backed by a junkyard blues soundtrack (h/t @JorgeBrosada) and a script that touts USC as blue-collar underdogs who scratch and claw for everything we get. If that’s who we are, then how about a v/o man with at least a hint of a southern accent? Somebody we can relate to?

Or how about really think outside the box and (gasp) hire a WOMAN to do the voice. Radical, I know.

The script is once again penned, at least in part, by Andy Demetra. It has his fingerprints all over it, trying to hit a home run with every sentence instead of subtly building to a crescendo and having one message-reinforcing home run line.

“We believe that a blue-collar and a garnet heart can take you places you never thought possible.”

A nominee for the most Andy Demetra line ever. That’s saying a lot. And while being blue-collar is probably a source of pride in South Carolina, it’s a little limiting to our fan base, don’t you think?

“If it ain’t swayin’, we ain’t playin’.”

Still?

“Here, when we fall we dust ourselves off and get back up. That hasn’t happened very often.”

It hasn’t? Was the person who wrote this born in 2010?

“Here, we have the Head Ball Coach, and you don’t.”

Y’all know I love the HBC, but who are we talking to? Florida? Are we taunting Florida? Maybe we’re taunting Vandy. Or Kentucky, I don’t know.

“Here, they said it couldn’t be done. But guess what, we’re doing it.”

Finally, at the 1:20 mark, we get a decent line.

All I’m asking is for somebody to write like a human being, not a cliche’-spouting robot.

The clips and images are fine, but two years after the first “It’s Great to Be a Gamecock” video the vignettes and muted colors are getting a little tiresome. It’s time for video editors to learn what most decent photographers and photo editors finally figured out: step away from the “apply filter” button.

Finally, the new hashtag: #HereSC.

At first glance there’s not much wrong with it, but eventually you have to actually SAY it, whether it’s in your head or out loud. Everybody I’ve shown the hashtag to, without prompting, says “wow, sounds a lot like ‘heresy’”.

I don’t know what #HereSC sounding like heresy even means, but it’s not good. As a matter of fact, it’s terrible that the idea even made it into serious discussion.

As a guy who has spent 20+ years as a marketer, I’m probably a little harder on the athletic department’s efforts to promote our programs than most would be. I tend to notice things others might not give a second thought, which is probably a good thing for our marketing department.

Think I’ll soothe my disappointment by taking a #GamecockSelfie.