ESPN is using off-the-wall comedy again to promote the upcoming extreme sports competition Winter X Games 14. The sports network is no stranger to comedy in its promotions, although for X Games ads it seems to veer from its usual hip, frat-house prankster tone to the zanier variety. In one sense it seems to be tapping into rival Fox-owned extreme sports network Fuel TV, which has a knack for the same. For this spot, ESPN openly channels one of the zaniest comedies of all time, the Zucker brothers and Jim Abraham’s film Airplane! Much like the film, the spot’s perfect pacing as it quickly slides into complete absurdity is the winning formula.
Watch it at Adweek {link no longer active}.
