Remember when we used to laugh about Joker's lame #ComePlayWRForTheJoker campaign? You should,
it was like a week ago. Oh how we would laugh.
His experimentation with photoshop was like when your grandmother finally gets a computer with internet, and then spends days sending test emails that just say "Hi," or "I love you." Sure, Joker's affinity for superimposing Florida logos onto superheroes was mostly harmless. But it was also so incredibly lame that it was hilarious for everyone else.
Or, at least, I thought it was.
Apparently ESPN isn't in on the joke though. According to a recent article from the Worldwide Leader, the social media campaign is actually kind of edgy and useful. Or something like that. Here, see for yourself:
It started innocently enough with a hashtag and an illustration tweeted by Florida wide receivers coach Joker Phillips. There was the Joker, the Batman villain portrayed by Heath Ledger, wearing a blue Gators blazer including the hashtag #ComePlayWRFortheJoker.
Others followed. An astronaut planting a Gators flag and a newspaper featuring the hashtag and Jeff Driskel watching the Kentucky Derby among them.
Not to be outdone, offensive coordinator Brent Pease posted his own masterpiece of Harry Potter flying over The Swamp with his three quarterbacks, Driskel, Tyler Murphy and Skyler Mornhinweg looking up at Potter on a broomstick. It was captioned with "Chasing #TheStandard."
Assistants Brian White, Derek Lewis and Tim Davis have all joined the campaign as well.
While funny, the campaign is also serious business, helping Florida go on the offensive on the trail. Instead of just private messages to recruits, the Gators are proactively using Twitter, as well as Facebook and Instagram, as new outlets for reaching prospects.
"Serious business." Yeah, sure it is.
The piece, written by Recruiting Nation reporter Derek Tyson, actually goes even more in depth than that as to why the constant photoshopping going on in the Florida football offices is a good thing.
Consider me among the unconvinced though. Why? First of all, because I've SEEN the pictures. But also because this quote from Tallahassee Lincoln head coach Yusuf Shakir was used as evidence of its success:
To be honest with you, that's how kids interact now... They are always on Twitter. Facebook is kind of out of the picture now, but they are on Twitter and Instagram. It's really how they do their whole interaction with everybody. I think it's a phenomenal idea. There's a saying that if you want to get in touch with people then you have to know how to communicate. The more you interact with the kids on their level then the more they are comfortable with you as a coach.
I don't know about you, but I tend to think that when you start talking about the way kids communicate like it's some sort of alien language,
you're probably not the best judge of the type of stuff that gets through to young people.
But hey, keep doing you, Joker. The ESPN article should cancel out the overall lameness of the whole thing. Probably.
[ Florida's social media campaign no Joke ]
Remember when we used to laugh about Joker's lame #ComePlayWRForTheJoker campaign? You should, it was like a week ago. Oh how we would laugh. His experimentation with photoshop was like when your grandmother finally gets a computer with internet, and then spends days sending test emails that just say "Hi," or "I love you." Sure, Joker's affinity for superimposing Florida logos onto superheroes was mostly harmless. But it was also so incredibly lame that it was hilarious for everyone else.
Or, at least, I thought it was. Apparently ESPN isn't in on the joke though. According to a recent article from the Worldwide Leader, the social media campaign is actually kind of edgy and useful. Or something like that. Here, see for yourself:
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