Video: Oberto lands Richard Sherman as highest-profile jerky pitchman
May 7, 2014, 12:37 PM | Updated: 2:27 pm
Talk about good timing. Kent-based Oberto has rolled out a new national ad campaign featuring Richard Sherman on the same day the All-Pro cornerback signed a four-year contract extension worth a whopping $57.4 million.
Two new commercials starring Sherman pitching Oberto’s natural, high-protein jerky line began airing Wednesday. One features a very serious Sherman congratulating NFL draft picks, while the other shows him working out and talking to the “little voice in his stomach,” played by ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
“I like what they stand for,” Sherman told USA TODAY Sports. “I like their slogan – ‘You get out what you put in.’ It’s pretty straightforward and it really applies to football and to what I’m about.
Oberto’s biggest national campaign ever also features Sounders star Clint Dempsey, former Chicago Bears standout Brian Urlacher and pro snowboarder and X Games host Louie Vito.
Oberto had planned to launch the new campaign showcasing Sherman’s rise from a lightly-regarded fifth round pick to Super Bowl champ to coincide with this week’s NFL draft. The timing of the contract signing was serendipity, says Mike Ginal, Oberto’s Director of Marketing.
“The fact that we had Richard Sherman, it just really delivers and punctuates the campaign message ‘you get out what you put in,'” Ginal says.
The new campaign is in support of Oberto’s expanded distribution over the past year. But Ginal says while the company is seeking to make big strides across the country, its focus remains on the Seattle-area. And having national stars in both Sherman and Dempsey as spokespeople was a natural fit.
“It was very important for us to maintain a strong Seattle connection, it’s our home and it’s our most important market. So we really wanted to be focused on that, but wanted to have a really big impact around the country. And we couldn’t have thought of two better people (Sherman and Dempsey),” he says.
