We all need a Terry Tate

Resslin' Around, by Casey Ressler

The day after the Super Bowl, offices around the country were abuzz. All of the talk around the water cooler wasn't about the Tampa Bay defense, the Raiders' collapse or Jon Gruden beating his former team, as you might expect.

Everybody was talking about the same thing, though. "Man, wouldn't it be cool if Terry Tate, Office Linebacker, worked here?"

In case you missed it, Terry Tate is a corporate dream. Born out of a $4 million Super Bowl advertising campaign, Terry Tate, Office Linebacker is a hulk of a man -- 6-feet, 7-inches and 300 pounds of muscle -- who makes darn sure productivity is up and there is no loafing going on in the workplace.

In one advertising spot, a worker in the office drinks the last cup of coffee and doesn't make another pot. Just as he takes a drink of the scalding coffee, here comes Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. He dives through the air and crushes the coffee drinker.

"You kill the Joe, you make some mo!" Terry Tate screams at the bloodied man laying on the ground.

Every office needs a Terry Tate roaming the halls. If Terry Tate worked in the newsroom and decided to spread his wrath on those who don't make coffee when taking the last cup, I'd have two coworkers in intensive care.

Without mentioning names, Scott Christiansen and Jeremiah Bartz would think twice about taking that last cup of coffee.

Playing solitaire or surfing the 'Net on company time? Terry Tate has a bone-jarring tackle waiting for you.

Don't even think of slipping in a game of Minesweeper. You better be working hard or you'll be laying on the ground the next second.

Corporations would pay out the nose for a manager like that to keep employees on the straight and narrow.

Everybody is talking about Terry Tate, but there is one catch.

Does anyone remember what company he is advertising?

According to the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter focus group, only 55 percent of respondents could identify which company the Terry Tate spot was advertising.

Super Bowl commercials have become 30- and 60-second epics in recent years. Having people talk about your commercial is more important than having people talk about your product and your name, it seems.

Terry Tate, Office Linebacker was advertising Reebok, despite the fact the fictional office where Terry Tate administered his punishment -- Felcher and Sons -- was mentioned in the ad more often than Reebok itself. Sure, he was wearing Reebok garb and the logo appeared at the end, but the rest of the 60-second spot had nothing to do with the product line offered by Reebok.

The Super Bowl has become as much a cultural event in America as it is a sporting event, and advertising has followed the trend by rolling out the biggest and best promotions on that day. With the large amount of viewers and the diversity of the viewers, it is the perfect time to launch a large advertising campaign.

Last Sunday, for a large group of Super Bowl viewers, the commercials were the best part of the game. They are called Raider fans.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor. While being a hulk of a man, he is only the Office Waterboy.