Arkansas Trucking Association

Up Front- Name. Image. Law Office Commercial Breaks.

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

College football is back. Woo Pig Sooie!! Bust out your team colors, criticize the pre-season rankings, make your own predictions and escape real-world realities for a few hours. Whether you’re gathered in the bleachers or in living rooms and sports bars around the state, supporting your team is just a good way to spend a Saturday. Paint your face, scream your lungs out, invest a little too much emotion in the outcome of the game; however you fan, I’m here for it.

The game day commercial breaks I’m less enthusiastic about.

This year, especially, it feels like the boundary between the challenges of the industry are seeping into the spaces between quarters, and the feeling I am left with is whiplash and even a little bit of dread.

It will go something like this: In the first quarter, the Hogs will make an incredible play. I’ll have a pep in my step as I refill the salsa bowl. I’ll be grinning from ear to ear, giving high-fives and shouting something obnoxious to annoy my kids. All the while thinking, it’s a great day to be a Razorback!

Commercial break.

“I’m a hard hitter on the field, and you need a hard hitter in the court room,” the player sits in the bleachers, wearing his jersey with a football in his hand, speaking straight to the camera. He’s partnered with a personal injury law firm, the kind that villainize trucking companies in their ads year-round.

My enthusiasm is diminished.

Between plugs for Gatorade and movie trailers, fans are getting to see the players we love, the ones whom we just watched catch a pass or hold the line, profit from their status and become real celebrities. Razorbacks will be endorsing brands like Slim Chickens and PetSmart. Local banks have agreements with players. Quarterback KJ Jefferson will turn to the camera, flash a grin and recommend the services at Westrock orthodontics.

We can’t escape trial lawyers. Their faces are everywhere. Scattered on billboards and in magazines you can see “Hurt by a big rig?”  While nuclear verdicts scare insurance companies out of the market and rising insurance rates drive smaller companies to close, everyone is paying more for less. But now the trial lawyers’ message isn’t coming from a suit and Crest-whitened smile.

The player who just broke the school record for the most yards and gave me the thrill of hope for a memorable season is telling me and every other SEC spectator why XYZ law firm has got his back.

I’m no fair-weather fan, and I won’t let it ruin my enthusiasm for the Hogs. I know that the trucking industry delivered those uniforms and pads they’re wearing. I know the trucking industry stocked the concessions with hot dogs and cold beer, but the rules have changed and trial lawyers everywhere are partnering with our favorite players. We can’t stand along the sidelines. We have better messages to share, and it’s time we up our game.