The only thing better than that would be if it was the real Inverdale.

Nice one Mr Cat !

Yours.

Not_Quite_Fat_But_Tubby_&_Working_On_It

PS. (For All)

Darts is a past time for fat alcoholics & is marketed at fat alcoholics by Breweries
& the Past Time Governing Body.

It is no more than a limp C0CK waving contest for P!$$H€AD$.

i think its funny... an irreverent poke at ourselves. or perhaps we don't like it when we have the mirror held up so we can see ourselves in it!

the nice thing is that the short appearances by the players make them look big... mean and athletic... nor do i mind the gentle poking of fun at other sports foibles... because its happening in a medium that we are doing that also to ourselves.

ditch the chip! and lets start to enjoy ourselves and our sport again!

As much as I hate 'settling' so to speak. A lot of RL fans need to realise that although we think this is the best game in the world, the vast majority in this country don't. We have to accept and deal with the fact that we are miles behind football, rugby union and possibly cricket/darts in terms of popularity. We aren't going to get past them anytime soon. What we need to strive for is a slow increase in coverage. Done well in that respect that BBC are live streaming amatuer RL in the Challenge Cup.

In terms of the advert, it's funny, entertaining. Has a pot shot at other sports (which all RL fans do anyway) he syas what we all think and feel. Accurately represents the emotions of a typical RL match. As someone said before yes, Johnny Vegas is an RL lover and maybe in an ideal world we wouldn't have him promoting the game. Yet we've had Russell Crowe (a Hollywood superstar) try promote the game on Sky Sports to no avail.

The only negatives I have with the advert is possibly some of the terminology used. And the lack of actual footage of the sport. For me it should be highlights of one or two classy tries, some monster hits in defence, then a clip of the Mic'd Up section, with maybe the monologue from Vegas over the top of most of it.

Unfortunately with the clowns in charge of the game at the moment. RL will continue to be 'sub-standard' and look amatuerish in terms of marketing the game. Get someone in charge with some brains. I mean Toronto do their own marketing etc and are miles ahead of anything the RFL have come up with.

I'm not a big Johnny Vegas fan so I can't say I find it brilliant but on the other hand its nowhere near as bad as some as the moaners on here are going on about. Anyway if you want a turd, passionless advert (which TBF advertises a turd, passionless competition) check out the 6 nations guff the BBC is putting out at the moment.

This one.

Good for you, unfortunately not everyone who watches RL is a fat, dumb, loudmouth Northerner.

seen it for the first time today

not a fan

Let's face it, whoever we (Sky) get to front up an advert is unlikely to be everyones cup of tea, Vegas certainly isnt.
But, there is no denying that he is a real fan and follows St Helens and a lot of what he says in the advert is what draws the current supporters in and keeps them coming back and many RL fans dont enjoy football (although plenty do), they dont watch a lot of Union (again some do).
It's only supposed to give a "heads up" that the new season is almost upon us and it certainly does that.

None of the critics have said who/what they would want to see instead ??

Treatment like a real, legitimate sport and not some type of regional backwoods aberration.

I think what you've ultimately got with this ad is something that is believable - and that's something good ads have to have. Jonny Vegas may be many things, but there's no question that he's a fan of the sport.

OK, he may play to a certain stereotype but as he says in the ad, "it's who we are" (whether you like it or not). You could give that script to Benedict Cumberbatch and whilst I'm sure it will look a lot more sophisticated than Jonny Vegas, it certainly wouldn't be believable.

If you want to start arguing that the sport needs content that appeals to a more sophisticated audience (and that's certainly something I've said the sport should be doing) then go ahead, but that isn't a task that starts and ends with a Sky TV ad. Sky TV isn't the RFLs or the 12 SL clubs' PR agency.

Rugby League isnt great because it isnt Football, it isnt great because it isnt RU, or NFL. The cliched criticisms of another sport dont make us a worthwhile way for people to spend their time.

Its negative, its pandering, it has the image of those faux-salt-of-the-earth types holding court at the WMC bar telling anyone who will listen 'ow t'worlds gon t'pot cos a namby pamby young'uns n t'pc brigade.

At the very least, if we decided to go down the route of a Johnny Vegas surrealist rant or soliloquy, have one that is actually positive about the sport.

It's not who I am, or many other people who follow RL. This is a sport FFS, it's not some weird hobby like Morris dancing that will only ever appeal to weirdos, it's IMO the best sporting product in the world and I'm pretty sure you could show it to anyone anywhere in the world and they would appreciate it. So why is "who we are" a bunch of fat, dumb Northern slobs?

You didn't think that it was positive then ?
Vegas wasn't looking forward to the start of the new season

. it looked like he couldn't wait.

We do have a "northern image" but, let's face it, that is where the game is played.
If we had Sir Steve Redgrave or Sir Andy Murray "selling" the game, it just wouldn't be believable.

Perhaps you should tell us exactly who you would have giving us the "2 week warning" that the season is about to start and what line they should take.

Like the BBC having fans dressed up as Leeks , Cockerels and the like showing their passion for their sport , terrible isn't it ?

No. What positive thing does it say about the game?

It criticises football, RU, NFL, cricket, tennis, diving, it shows Johnny Vegas has a few fundamental gaps in his knowledge about how the human body works, but it doesnt really tell us anything positive about the game.

As for the northern thing. Sean Bean is from Sheffield, Sir Patrick Stewart from Huddersfield, Malcolm McDowell is from Horsforth and grew up near Aintree. Sir Ben Kingsley was born near Scarborough and brought up in Pendleton. Alan Bennett is from Leeds. Northern does not equal uncultured.

Do you know whether any of these northern cultural icons have an interest in Rugby League?

I think you have missed the point. Im not proposing any of these as spokespeople for our game, simply highlighting that 'the northern image' isnt defined as Johnny Vegas.

Looks to me like a an internationally known comdian passionate about his sports team saying things many other fans would be thinking about their team and their sport.
But please, do explain how the psychology behind the advert is wrong and only hints at RL being a "regional backwoods aberration" as you so deftly put it, you're wrong but I'd like to hear you explain it in a cogent and well argued manner.
crack on sonshine

Let's flip this round - could you see the premier league, the EFL, RU etc promoting the start of their new seasons through having an immature pop at other sports? Professionalism- it's lacking.

Not to speak for headhunter, but at the very least somebody could have explained to johnny what motor neurons are.

Because he is 'internationally known' (really?) for portraying a fat, dumb, Northern slob stereotype, which represents the exact stereotype that Sky Sports and others are desperate to associate with RL.

A lot of people involved in RL seem to live in a bubble and don't understand how the outside world views them. What do you think people from London, or anywhere else really who are not already familiar with the product will think of RL when they see that advert? What type of image do you think it associates with the sport? Why do you think we get virtually zero mainstream coverage and are treated nationally as a laughing stock? Why do you think our elite flagship competition is sponsored by ing mushy peas, and outside commentators and academics are saying it's a good fit and an example of a brand knowing its target market? Is there anything about RL that means it should only appeal to fat thickos who like mushy peas? I must be missing it if so, to me it's an unrivaled sporting product which sadly for its entire history been populated by a certain oblivious demographic who seem happy to accept the establishment literally laughing in their face.

Oh I got the point, but, was trying to understand whether you thought that in an ideal world we would have our sport advertised by someone that is northern, cultured AND a Rugby League fan and obviously a recognisable public figure and if so who are they?

Further, if this cross between Brian Cox and Eddie Warring doesn't exist, which of these qualities do you think are most deserving to knock Johnny off his perch to market the start of SL 2017?

The first 'quality' must be a Rugby League fan, surely?

If you had got the point you would understand the irrelevancy of your question.

Having given you another chance to correspond, the only thing that is irrelevant is you, enjoy it.