Best Branded Content: DirecTV and the Mannings Drop a New Rap Sequel

Last week, I claimed the holy grail of content marketing was the rare viral hit that stars your product.

I should have written the holy grail of content marketing is the rare viral hit that stars your product and features Eli and Peyton Manning rapping.

Last year, DirecTV scored a big content marketing touchdown with “Football on Your Phone,” a Lonely Island-style parody that unleashed the hip-hop skills of the Manning brothers as they sang about using the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket app. It was ridiculous, included Eli Manning in Jheri curls, and rightfully earned more than 8 million views on YouTube.

This time, the brothers are promoting DirecTV’s new Fantasy Zone channel, which leads Eli to slip into a psychedelic football fantasy. Eli is in camo pants, Peyton is rocking the gold chain, and Joe Namath is grinding up on someone’s mom while making stew. Along the way, a bewildered Archie Manning floats through space.

The new video is great—and a lock for the Best Branded Content of August—but it does fall short of the original. The old chorus was just so darn catchy, and it held strong as a rallying cry for every football fan who was pressured into attending a boring Sunday dinner party, a distant cousin’s wedding, or any other situation when watching football on your phone was a beautiful—if mildly inappropriate—solution.

But maybe I’m just a sucker for Eli in Jheri curls giving off a strong Soul Glo vibe. Which one do you prefer? Tweet me @JoeLazauskas and let me know. Please. I’d much rather talk about the Manning brothers rapping than do actual work.

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