If you watched the most recent Super Bowl this last Sunday, you may have noticed a familiar face during one of the various commercial breaks. That’s because the University of Wyoming reportedly spent around two million dollars, according to the Cowboy State Daily, to post a 30-second advertisement centered around the recently voted MVP of the NFL and UW alumni, Josh Allen, during the big game.
The advertisement, which was produced in collaboration by UW institutional marketing as well as UW athletics, aired on local FOX Television affiliates, meaning it was only aired in Wyoming, some neighboring states or other select areas across the country. The advertisement was made in hopes of cashing in on Josh Allen’s ties to the university as an alumnus, as well as celebrating his recent honors of being the NFL’s prestigious Most Valuable Player, the first player to ever receive the honor who previously donned the Brown and Gold.
“In many respects, Josh’s story is the quintessential UW story. As was the case with Josh–a raw talent whose only Division 1 offer was to play for the Cowboys–the University of Wyoming gives students from all backgrounds an opportunity to learn, grow and prove themselves,” Chad Baldwin, UW’s associate vice president for marketing and communications, said in a recent press release by UW institutional communications.
“We are delighted to celebrate Josh’s success, honor his unshakeable determination and highlight his inextricable connection with his alma mater in this video ad.”
The advertisement undoubtedly reached the masses and has provoked some discourse on social media, and many students on campus have conflicting opinions on the advertisement. Some feel as if the reported two million dollars would have been better spent elsewhere, for example.
“This school got extraordinarily fortunate to get and help produce an athlete like Josh Allen, which is cool, but I don’t see how dropping two million dollars on a commercial about how they did that really solidifies our role in it all,” Garrett Grochowski, a UW student, said of the commercial. “I think that insane amount of money could have been better spent on athletic scholarships or something to actually help produce the next Josh Allen.”
However, other students believe the advertisement was a great way to shed light on Wyoming athletics, as well as the university as a whole.
“Two million dollars is a lot, but Wyoming isn’t like Penn State or Ohio State, we don’t usually produce athletes like Josh Allen,” Payton Neville, a fellow UW student also said of the commercial. “I’d say it was a good investment for brand visibility.”
Regardless of any opinions surrounding the rather expensive commercial commissioned by UW, Josh Allen’s legacy clearly remains to be one of the greatest and successful underdog stories the university can boast to date.
