Hate to burst the bubble for some of you, but that "Razzle Dazzle" ad is extremely queer, with a capital gay.
Furthermore, it markets rugby as a game for the more sophisticated, private school boy nobs; it is because of this reason that many punters don't ever consider rugby as a game to support, as they believe they don't fit in with the supporter stereotype. This is rugby, we aren't going to the bloody theatre in our suits and bow ties.
Rugby should be marketed as a game for everyone, all shapes, all cultures and nations. It is a world game, with many players who offer many different attributes to the spectacle.
I have friends who support league and AFL who just don't realise that Quade Cooper is a more skilled player than Jonathan Thurston or Jarred Hayne. Or that Rod Davies is faster than Billy Slater. Or that David Pocock makes Fevola look like a skinny school boy.
These ads should be trying to introduce players such as these to people who aren't interested in rugby on a day to day, hour to hour basis like us. If rugby is to survive in the current competitive sporting landscape, the game needs to appeal to a new breed of supporters and to stop being so precious about maintaining its traditional upper class, clean image.
As for the new ad, I can guarantee that your average viewer would have NO IDEA what that 30secs of footage was about. They'll be saying "was that just the trailer for the new terminator movie?".
