New ESPN Series Shows How O.J. Simpson Changed Advertising—and It Changed Him

Source: www.adweek.com --- Friday, June 10, 2016
If you thought FX's superb The People v. O.J. Simpson was the definitive TV miniseries about the NFL star turned criminal, you ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait until tomorrow, when ABC airs the first part of O.J.: Made in America, a stunning 10-hour ESPN documentary series from director Ezra Edelman, who delves into Simpson's entire life and sets his NFL and Hollywood successes and subsequent murder trial against the turbulent backdrop of L.A. and race in the 1950s and '60s. It's a remarkable, tragic portrait of a superstar's rise and fall and our society's culpability in every twist of his story. Thought-provoking and engrossing, it pulls off something that might have seemed impossible: It surpasses the FX miniseries that preceded it. (ESPN will air the other four parts on Tuesday, Wednesday and next Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m.) Some of the documentary's most interesting insights come during Saturday's premiere, which explores how Simpson became an advertising star almost as soon as he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1969. He quickly signed deals with Chevrolet and RC Cola, but his most life-changing endorsement came in 1975 when he signed with Hertz. The first ad, which saw him racing through an airport to get to his rental car, was an instant hit and lead to an astounding two-decade partnership between Hertz and Simpson that lasted until Simpson's trial for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman ...

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