Over the last few years, we’ve heard many reasons why name, image, and likeness (NIL) has been a bad thing for college football. Arguments about players making too much money too soon, or how it’s helped turn the transfer portal into a free agent frenzy have failed to land knockout blows.
The new Dosanjh Family Auto Group commercial featuring Cal Golden Bears freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele might be what brings it all crashing down.
Per Alex Simon at SF Gate, the auto group, which is the “official automotive dealer group of Cal Football,” debuted the ad last week on the NBC Sports Bay Area weekly show, Inside Cal Football. To say that it left an impression on its audience would be an understatement.
After an ad read explaining that Dosanjh Family Auto Group is “proud partners of Cal Football,” we get a hard cut to a shot of Sagapolutele awkwardly getting the keys to a new truck from auto group president Jessie Dosanjh. After he’s congratulated, the QB woodenly says that he’s “looking forward to driving it, Jessie.” The camera pans to follow Sagapolutele as he enters the vehicle, and we get the full experience of him opening the car door, complete with the “door is ajar” ring until it’s closed.
From there, another hard cut to the inside of the car, where Sagapolutele turns and smiles at the camera, says “Go Bears,” and gives the hang loose hand signal. Finally, in a clip right out of I Think You Should Leave, we watch the truck slowly drive off the lot for a solid 12 seconds, with Sagapolutele giving a thumbs up before disappearing from the frame.
At no point in the commercial is there any background music, and no graphics accompany the footage of Sagapolutele getting his new truck. It’s as if this Bay Area automotive group were following the rules set forth in the Danish avant-garde filmmaking movement Dogme 95.
The whole thing makes former Nebraska wide receiver Decoldest Crawford’s air conditioning company commercial look like a Marvel movie by comparison.
To his credit, Sagapolutele, who currently ranks fourth in the ACC with 2,518 passing yards, seems to be well aware that his future success likely won’t include any Academy Awards.
“I won’t be expecting an Oscar pretty soon, (and) I think I’ll just keep the truck in the parking lot,” he told The Daily Californian’s Joaquin Ruiz.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.