With Tom Brady’s appeal happening as we speak, and the All World Quarterback’s Golden Globe-worthy performance in Ted 2 just days from release, I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like if Ted, and not Tom’s attorney Jeffrey Kessler, were representing him today.

Let’s just say that although Tom’s legal interests may be somewhat compromised, I feel confident that this little ball of Southie belligerence would finally tell Goodell to his face what we’ve all been thinking. (Warning: don’t click on this link if you are offended by extremely rude, off-color insults barked with a Wicked Boston accent.)

Okay…let’s get this away from L Street and back on Boylston. This little fantasy of mine got me thinking about how far we’ve come in content marketing (yes, I’m making a rough transition, but stick with me).

Remember when YouTube hit? You would have thought the entire paid media business was lost overnight to a cheap digital camera and some editing software. The ability to create engaging, nimble, smart content has been democratized, whereas what hasn’t changed is the power behind truly well done, strategic brand communications.

For example, consider Under Armour’s short film “Tom Brady’s Wicked Accent.” If you aren’t one of the 1.5 million folks who watched this hilarious piece, here’s the gist: it’s a three-minute Under Armour ad that people love to watch over and over again.

https://youtu.be/q2CA0_UE4yU

Basically, Tom Brady goes into a Dick’s Sporting Goods somewhere near his hometown of San Mateo, CA (naturally, he heads to the Under Armour section). The Funny or Die gag unfolds as the sales clerk and shoppers have fun with Tom’s accent. Of course, the joke is that he has no accent whatsoever, and his squeaky clean, nice-guy image unravels to the point where Tom drops an angry F-Bomb on the entire shenanigan.

As mentioned, the piece was viewed 1.5 million times on YouTube alone, and shared and talked about many, many more. The inbound marketing experts will point to this sort of success as proof that traditional brand advertising is dead… after all, there was no media buy.

However, on closer examination, just how non-traditional was this? Let’s see: Big-name star? Check. Hundreds of thousands in production cost? Check. Big reach? Check. PR-campaign behind it? Check.

You see, even though this is a great example of a successful “viral” video, it’s far from catching lightening in a bottle. Under Armour’s success wasn’t abandoning the tenets of good, solid brand work, it was simply making the most of the deployment channels at its disposal.

The lesson? Consumer-facing brands like Under Armour must continue to tap into the emotion and insight of their brands, while layering on more sophisticated ways to harness this reach. It’s something we call Brand/Action marketing at CBC, the combination creating powerful brand communications with the pragmatic, ROI driven practices of inbound marketing programs.

It’s not a choice between old and new—it’s just smart marketing in 2015 and beyond.

Now if the studio can just find a way to sell deflated footballs signed by Tom and Ted at this week’s opening, I think we may have all the elements for an amazing success…

— Len Cercone