Sure, you can reach the common man by targeting him through his love of football. For instance, you can talk TV like Sears:

 

or beer like Coors Light:

But if you really want to hit home with your target, then you have to go someplace a little deeper. That’s right, I’m talking tailgating.  It seems there are a slew of ads out there that are using tailgating as the creative platform to reach men. Here’s a sample:

Bud Light has been running a “Tailgate Tested, Tailgate Approved” campaign this season. Pretty clever execution, though I previously called in to question the effectiveness of the communication.

Toyota has a “Great Moments in Tailgating History” campaign they are running on the NBC sports website.

Allstate (client) is using a character called Bergwood to support their college football sponsorship:

Here’s one for Kingsford charcoal from 2008

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6oYeqGLTy8[/youtube]

I actually like all these spots, but at some point the tailgate platform will start to become cliche. It will be time to pull out a deeper consumer insight. That reminds me of the original MasterCard (client) Priceless ad from about 10 years ago:

That’s still a powerful commercial because it taps into a real insight that will still be true in 50 years.