http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/granny-of-rock-not-good-enough/2007/11/17/1194767018135.html
Plans for Tina Turner to return as the face of rugby league have been scrapped despite the grandmother of rock's willingness to be part of centenary celebrations.
In a radical departure from recent campaigns, the centrepiece of the NRL's promotions won't feature a theme song or artist but instead focus on the history of the game. NRL officials held talks with Turner's management with a view to reprising the "Simply the Best" campaign that proved so successful in the late 1980s and early '90s.
Yet despite her availability, NRL marketing manager Paul Kind confirmed the league would head in a different direction to mark its 100th year.
"She was going to be available if we'd chosen that direction, there was nothing prohibiting us from doing it, it was just the wrong decision," Kind said. "Simply the Best was going to leave us in a very specific era within the game.
"We're talking about 100 years of history and Simply the Best is synonymous with the period from the late '80s to early '90s."
The advertising agency that brought the game Turner - MJW - is again heading the promotional campaign but Kind said the NRL was "going in a very different creative direction" next year.
"The piece that we're going to put up next year isn't about an artist or a song," Kind said.
"Over the last 15 to 20 years, the league has used a piece of music to become an anthem for the game for a respective era.
"With the centenary celebrations, we're trying to put so much into a 60-second spot and we want it to be about the game, not a new artist performing a new song for the game.
"The musical piece will be a background to the imagery we are cutting on the 100 years of rugby league history."
Plans for Tina Turner to return as the face of rugby league have been scrapped despite the grandmother of rock's willingness to be part of centenary celebrations.
In a radical departure from recent campaigns, the centrepiece of the NRL's promotions won't feature a theme song or artist but instead focus on the history of the game. NRL officials held talks with Turner's management with a view to reprising the "Simply the Best" campaign that proved so successful in the late 1980s and early '90s.
Yet despite her availability, NRL marketing manager Paul Kind confirmed the league would head in a different direction to mark its 100th year.
"She was going to be available if we'd chosen that direction, there was nothing prohibiting us from doing it, it was just the wrong decision," Kind said. "Simply the Best was going to leave us in a very specific era within the game.
"We're talking about 100 years of history and Simply the Best is synonymous with the period from the late '80s to early '90s."
The advertising agency that brought the game Turner - MJW - is again heading the promotional campaign but Kind said the NRL was "going in a very different creative direction" next year.
"The piece that we're going to put up next year isn't about an artist or a song," Kind said.
"Over the last 15 to 20 years, the league has used a piece of music to become an anthem for the game for a respective era.
"With the centenary celebrations, we're trying to put so much into a 60-second spot and we want it to be about the game, not a new artist performing a new song for the game.
"The musical piece will be a background to the imagery we are cutting on the 100 years of rugby league history."
