Skift Take

Like most of what Disney does, this is the envy of not just the travel industry, but any brand seeking the endorsement of whoever is the most popular person on the planet right now -- unless, of course, you were rooting for San Francisco.

Despite overseeing an offense that saw its power disappear in the second half much like the power inside the Superdome, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was named the most valuable player in his team’s Super Bowl XLVII defeat of the San Francisco 49ers.

And just after Flacco was broadcast on CBS dropping an F-bomb while celebrating with his teammates, the MVP uttered the most notable five words in travel advertising:

“I’m Going to Disney World!”

Flacco’s announcement was turned into a commercial for the Orlando theme park within the hour.

Flacco will travel from New Orleans to Orlando today to take part in a Super Bowl-themed party at the park.

This is the 26th time an NFL player has shouted an endorsement for a Disney theme park after leading a team to Super Bowl victory. The tradition began in 1987 with the New York Giants’ Phil Simms who, incidentally, was the color commentator for CBS during the Ravens-49ers game.

Since Simms’ utterance, the only time the MVP of a Super Bowl has not been used in the campaign was when Flacco’s teammate Ray Lewis was passed over after the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2001. Instead of the MVP Lewis, Disney turned the cameras on Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer who, while not the MVP, was also not living under the cloud of being an accessory to murder from the prior year, as was Lewis.

Here is Phil Simms in the first “I’m Going to Disney World!” Super Bowl ad:

Two travel companies snuck into the Super Bowl proceedings; rather unplanned according to earlier reports. Their presence could have been due to the extended time that resulted from the power outage at the Super Dome.

Expedia slipped into the lineup in the fourth quarter with its “Find Yours” campaign (this episode takes place at Disney World’s Mad Tea Party ride), while Royal Caribbean showed up near the game’s finale with its “Ships Designed for WOW” campaign. Both ads are below.

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Tags: disney, sports, tv

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