The Genius Behind the Roast of Tom Brady
Me and my husband at a game in our Patriots gear, not roasting Tom Brady.
Everyone is talking about the Roast of Tom Brady—good, bad, and indifferent. As a lifelong Patriots fan, I enjoyed seeing the old team together again. As for the humor itself, I’ll hold off on sharing my thoughts because that’s not the point of this article. The point is to explain why this roast was an absolute genius PR/marketing move for both Tom and Netflix.
How The Roast of Tom Brady Helped Netflix with Marketing
The first thing to know is that the last roast was Charlie Sheen’s in 2019 on Comedy Central. 2019 was way back before we experienced the #MeToo movement and other cultural shifts. Since that time, what’s acceptable and appropriate humor has been a slippery slope. Given the roasts’ reputation for raunchy, questionable humor, another roast was unlikely to happen. At least on cable’s Comedy Central.
The second thing to know is that Netflix is aiming hard to up its content game, including more live programming. Netflix’s gamble paid off:
Two million viewers tuned in
It was the sixth most-watched Netflix show the week of April 29 to May 5
This despite having only been available for less than half a day by week's end
Also, now everyone is talking about “who’s the next to be roasted?”
Why are these two factors important? Because from a marketing and PR perspective, Netflix was able to do what most marketers hope to do: take a huge gamble on a new or different form of content and have it pay off big time. Sure, they were risking a lot by promoting a show known for its crude and offensive humor, but aren’t some of the most memorable marketing campaigns inherently risky?
How the Roast of Tom Brady Helped Tom Brady with Marketing
Tom Brady also took a gamble, and it paid off. Literally. The ring Kevin Hart gave him was a reported $40K. The amount of money he received from Netflix is unknown, but some suspect that Tom even bankrolled the roast himself. Either way, why would someone subject themselves to a roast? Publicity.
So, let’s talk about publicity. How did I begin this article? By saying that, everyone is talking about the Roast of Tom Brady. Tom was in danger of becoming Mr. Irrelevant once again. Despite the “unretiring” rumors he’s spreading, his football career is over. This roast gave him the publicity he was so missing now that he’s retired. And remember what they say–there’s no such thing as bad press. So Mr. Brady was willing to take the risk of rehashing all his embarrassing moments and misdeeds to bring himself back into relevancy.
Positioning.
Now for positioning. The goal of this roast was to position Tom for his next move. So, what IS next for Tom? Well, what’s next for any hall-of-famer? If you ever watched Ballers with The Rock, you know it’s all about the struggles of post-NFL life. There are just a handful of paths for a retired football player--coaching or administration, commentating, other roles in the entertainment business, or nothing good at all, as the show touches upon.
But Tom doesn’t fit the bill for coaching, and he certainly doesn’t fit in with the entertainment biz. He’s too rich and smart to be doing “nothing good at all.” And he’s also not one to sit still. So that leaves commentating. However, NFL commentators have certain qualities that the public thinks the GOAT lacks. Those qualities include being generally likable, funny, and relatable.
How Brady Leveraged the Roast to Promote His Next Phase
Every commentator has varying levels of these qualities, but Tom? He’s unlikable by everyone outside of New England, and he’s got a good portion of now-haters here, too. He’s unrelatable to the majority of the NFL audience with his avocado ice cream and Ugg-wearing antics. His reputation for being Mr. Serious was notorious–funny was not a word we’d use to describe Tom.
Yet, this roast showed the world that Tom is not just a robot football player. He’s not the same guy he was when he was on the field. We aren’t used to seeing Tom feeling loose or taking shots and laughing at his own expense. Frankly, we weren’t even used to seeing Tom laugh at all. This roast showed that, yes, he can be funny! He’s well-spoken even outside of football jargon, and most importantly, he can take a joke.
The other genius part of this marketing scheme was inviting Gronk and Julian Edelman, two likable players who have already done a great job at establishing their post-NFL identities. While these two are known to be some of Tom’s closest friends in the NFL, they could’ve invited many other players. But inviting Julian, the smart podcaster, and Gronk, “the dumb jock,” placed Tom squarely in the middle as the somewhat likable, funny, and relatable commentator.
Who Really Won the Roast of Tom Brady?
The real winners here were Netflix’s content team and Tom Brady’s PR/marketing team. It was truly fascinating to see through my marketing lens (while wearing my Patriots gear, of course).
I’m curious to see if this campaign will carry Tom into the next phase of his career and if Netflix will continue with roasts.
Who do you think needs a PR boost from a roast? Tell me in the comments.
