University working on TV spot for upcoming year

Penn won't be wasting any more free advertising opportunities in the upcoming school year.

During this year's NCAA Tournament Penn had a chance to air a free 30-second commercial, but didn't because it didn't know about the opportunity and didn't have a commercial ready.

Now the University is trying to remedy that situation by creating a television spot that can be used in the future.

According to Penn spokeswoman Lori Doyle, Penn is currently looking for funding sources for the advertisement since the University doesn't do any paid advertising.

"We're working with the development office to find a donor to pay for the creative concept and production," Doyle said.

After deciding that the advertisement should be professionally produced instead of made in-house, the University has also reached out to various advertising firms, but has yet to come to an agreement with any.

"We're talking to Donny Deutsch at Deutsch Advertising to see if they'll do it on a pro bono basis," Doyle said.

Deutsch, the chairman of the advertising company which bears his name, is a graduate of the Wharton school.

According to Doyle, Deutsch Inc. helped Penn when it created a new logo a few years ago.

Scott Lahde, chief spokesman for the company, did not know anything about the project, but said Penn was likely looking at the firm because it is run by a Penn alumnus and not because it has worked on ads for other universities.

"We don't generally do ads for universities," Lahde said. "We generally do large national brands."

Doyle cited the University of Texas, Penn's opponent in last year's NCAA Tournament, as an example of a school that created a strong advertisement.

"Texas did a very nice job," Doyle said. "They had [Texas alumnus] Walter Cronkite do the voiceover."

She said that Penn would look into employing a similar strategy by featuring a prominent alumnus in the commercial, but that the content of the commercial has yet to be determined.

Mike Mahoney, an athletics department spokesman, said that the ad would likely be used any time a Penn team is featured on television.

He wasn't sure of the contractual agreement behind any TV spot, but that it might also be possible to use the commercial during events such as the Penn Relays.

Doyle said that once the University secures funding for the project, it will be completed quickly, so it's possible that the commercial will be ready for the upcoming football season.

Last year, three Penn football games were televised on CN8 and the YES network; these were opportunities in which Penn might have been able to air an institutional commercial.

The Penn basketball team also plays a number of televised regular season games on stations including CN8, CSTV and ESPNU.

Still, the main goal of the project is to be ready for next year's NCAA basketball Tournament, which is where Penn has the opportunity to receive the greatest national exposure.

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