After a hard-fought season, nothing is better than raising the championship trophy, feeling the confetti rain down and finally saying the words: “I am going to Disney World!”
Winning a sports championship comes with a lot of attention, but the celebration has gotten much larger than just a parade through the city.
Happiest place on earth
What does Disney, Raising Cane’s and the Super Bowl have in common? They were all changed by a single slogan.
In celebration of the new Star Wars-themed attraction opening, Disney’s former CEO, Michael Eisner invited George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, and two pilots, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager to a dinner party.
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Rutan and Yeager are known for flying the first aircraft around the world without stopping. Eisner’s wife, Jane Breckenridge, asked the two pilots what they would do after accomplishing an incredible feat.
“We’re going to Disneyland,” Rutan said. And just like that, the iconic slogan was born.
At the time, Disney needed a fresh ad to attract teenagers and older kids to the park. They decided to announce a new campaign with this slogan at the biggest televised event: the Super Bowl.
Instead of airing a traditional commercial with a voice-over saying the iconic phrase, Disney had the MVP of the big game announce it to the world.
Super Bowl XXI was set in Pasadena, California, as the Denver Broncos took on the New York Giants. Hall of Fame quarterback Phil Simms led the Giants to the win and earned Super Bowl MVP.
According to Simms, Disney paid him $50,000 to say the slogan in a commercial after the Super Bowl.
“I said, ‘Wow that’s crazy, and I want no part of it,’” Simms said in The Most Magical Story on Earth: 50 Years of Walt Disney World documentary. “My agent was just beating me over the head with it. And I said, ‘OK, just shut up, I’ll do it.’”
Simms was asked what he would be doing next after winning the Super Bowl. He replied, “I’m going to Disney World!”
From then on, Disney’s “What’s Next?” campaign became an annual tradition for the MVPs of the Super Bowl.
Can I get a large trophy with extra fries?
A more recent addition to the post-championship festivities is to have athletes join the fast-food workforce. This concept has taken more than just the NFL by storm. Raising Cane’s is the most notable chain that participates in allowing athletes to serve customers. Cane’s brings collegiate and pro sports athletes to a nearby location, where they surprise fans.
In 2012, Cane’s brought NBA shooting guard James Harden to a location in Oklahoma. At the time, Harden was playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder. As Harden was at Cane’s, he stuck his head through the drive-thru and they were able to capture a photo of him that drew attention to the event.
CEO and co-founder of Raising Cane’s Todd Graves told the New York Post that when he saw this moment, he knew they had something special.
“If I can start getting people to serve and do the drive-thru, it would humanize them,” Graves told the Post. “Nobody had done it. We’ve done it so much and had so much success that now you’ll see other businesses do it too.”
As the company became more popular in 2021, the “celebratory shift” got more attention on social media. Now, it has become a champion campaign for athletes to participate in after winning respective championships.
More to come
Even after winning a championship, there are no days off. Athletes are put into this media frenzy tour as a way to give back or to expand their brand. It does seem to be physically draining, but it is an experience that many don’t get to have.
Athletes are now also going on TV talk shows as a way to take advantage of their publicity wave. The Eagles recently visited Jimmy Fallon, along with some NBA athletes as well. While visits are exciting they still take away time from athletes’ relaxing offseasons.
More innovative celebrations are sure to come, with companies figuring out the best way to advertise championship-caliber athletes. It’s a great way to humanize these larger-than-life figures.
@Jon_Mathew23
