MMA Junkie reports of a rather unique partnership between the UFC and Canadian electronic-music guru Deadmau5, Joel Zimmerman. The UFC has loaned its brand for Deadmau5’s music video, “Professional Griefers” in what the UFC sees as part of its growth plan.
UFC’s Chief Marketing Officer, Bryan Johnson, stated that the partnership was “a natural fit.”
Via MMA Junkie:
“Music is embedded in our culture,” Johnston said. “It’s embedded in our fighters’ culture. Being here in Las Vegas, Deadmau5 is an artist-in-residence at Wynn Las Vegas’ nightclubs. He came to us and said he was a fan of the UFC. We started talking to him, and his creative team started rolling out ideas and basically said, ‘We want to do this with you because we’re fans.’ Over a six-month period, we just kind of worked with them.
The video itself depicts a futuristic UFC with an Octagon resembling Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Instead of a UFC match, the combatants control robots that battle.
Payout Perspective:
When I saw the press release for this partnership last week, I thought that the hackers were back and had control of the UFC press list. Looking at this a little closer, for an organization that is protective of its brand, this does not seem like a natural fit. If you watch the video you will notice that some fans watching on television are hillbillies living in trailers. Nothing against that segment of fan, but I am not sure that’s what the UFC wants to associate itself with even in a futuristic video. But for the fact that Deadmau5 is a Vegas based recording artist, I am not sure this partnership happens. With that being said, this could be a test for future partnerships with more established recording artists.
Leave a Reply