Terry Tate’s fame following the 60-second Super Bowl commercial may have been short-lived if Reebok hadn’t devised a scheme to keep fans enthralled by using the Internet.

It’s not often that a fictional character becomes so popular that it is able to drive people to the Internet in droves. But this is what happened with Terry Tate, an aggressive linebacker intent on enforcing office etiquette. Rawson Thurber, a USC film school graduate, created Tate, who came to life when Hypnotic and the Arnell Group jointly introduced the linebacker to Reebok, and the company ran with the idea.

Marc Fireman, Reebok’s director of interactive marketing, says his company was interested in the idea and found the character creative and funny. Reebok was looking for something that would appeal and relate to the brand’s target audience of 18- to 34-year-old males.

Launched on Television, Popular on the Internet

The campaign launched with a short television spot shown during the third quarter of this year’s Super Bowl. At the end of the ad, the Reebok Website appeared, luring viewers to the site where they could view the rest of the four-minute clip titled, “Terry’s World.” In the clip, Tate tackles various office workers for breaking rules such as finishing a pot of coffee without making more and throwing an aluminum can in the trash instead of the recycling bin.

“The objective of the Super Bowl ad was [to create] buzz and PR and drive people to the Website,” says Fireman.

Once on the Website, viewers had to join Terry Tate’s “hit squad” by registering their email addresses before they could watch the clip. At the time of registration, viewers also had the chance to opt in, or request to be sent information about any new short films.

The initial Super Bowl commercial and short film caught viewers’ attention and had them coming back for more. Reebok released three more short films, shown exclusively on the Web, spacing them out by about two to five weeks each. To announce the release of the short films and to create further hype around the office linebacker, Reebok sent emails to all viewers who had opted in to receive such information. The ads returned to the television with a “Streak This, Baby” 30-second commercial that aired during February 6th’s episode of “American Idol.”

Tate Equals Success as Millions Download Him

Fans may have been disappointed when the last of the four short films was released on the site in April; however, Reebok is rejoicing, having witnessed undeniable success with its innovative campaign.

A day and a half into the campaign, the number of films downloaded from the site had already exceeded Hypnotic’s original guarantee of approximately 700,000 downloads, Fireman says. Even more impressive is the fact that the company is still witnessing impressive numbers. Just in the month of June, 1.5 million films were downloaded. Currently, the total number of downloads is 13 million, a number that surprises even Fireman.

“I thought the response would be good, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted the phenomenon it has become,” he says.

In addition, the email component of the campaign has allowed the company to increase its database significantly with the release of each film.

“Now our database is pretty much equal to a television commercial, as far as driving people back to the site,” Fireman says. “It’s very targeted, very effective.”

Reebok is currently working to measure this campaign’s effectiveness by comparing it with others. Fireman says that, compared to BMW whose films were downloaded 10 million times in one year, the 13 million downloads Reebok has recorded so far is especially impressive.

Fireman believes the online aspect was actually a main driver of return on investment (ROI) and predicts that the success of the campaign will lead to changes in the way the company perceives Internet advertising.

“I think the company has definitely woken up to the power of the Internet and that it has its own ability to carry a campaign and is certainly an important part of the integrated marketing mix,” he says.

An Effective Branding Campaign

Following the Super Bowl commercial, an article in USA Today reported that only 55% of viewers remembered that it was an ad for Reebok. However, Fireman says that numbers such as these are of no concern to the company especially since the Website has been getting hundreds of thousands of visitors a day and Reebok has seen a significant increase to the site as a result of the campaign.

“Whatever the outcome was of the Super Bowl ad, I think the overall campaign has certainly driven a lot of buzz to Reebok,” he says.

Terry Tate has also become a celebrity, though this was not Reebok’s original objective. Tate’s public appearance at the Boston Marathon on April 21, 2003 drove people to put the Reebok branded tattoos he was distributing on their foreheads and motivated nuns to kiss him, Fireman says.

The promotion, created by Bennett Global Marketing Group, was a head advertising campaign and was designed to create hype around the fictional linebacker and the short films by having people put temporary tattoos on their foreheads.

“Every footwear competitor had their own campaigns going on, but when Terry Tate showed up, it was like mayhem,” he says.

Although, the campaign has come to an end, it is by no means the end of Terry Tate. Just this month, the company started to leverage Tate against product and retail and to tie him more into the company’s products. Reebok also plans on releasing more short films, but would not reveal when the next one is scheduled to be released. In the meantime, fans will just have to revisit him on Reebok’s Website.