Superbowl + will.i.am + FRC hat

[FRC4ME]

Originally Posted by Joe Matt

will.i.am, in one of the worst live performances, during the largest sporting event in America.

If this is the best FIRST can do it's in need of some big help.

And that's assuming people can look into his helmet or whatever and actually see anything, or understand the generic lyrics and actually find the reference to FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION. (Pro-tip: the word first is used for many things.) Can we also remember this is the man who appeared in "hologram" on CNN on election night.

I mean really guys, I come back to find CD defending the Black Eye Peas. REALLY?

Honestly, I think the subtle reference was the best we could have hoped for. No one is going to suddenly look up FRC now after seeing the halftime show. But it is not will.I.am's job to tell people about FIRST. That's our job. What he did is give us a talking point. He knew we would see the references while the general public would not. That's an opportunity! Now what's the first thing you'll say when you're telling someone about FIRST? "Remember the superbowl halftime show? Did you notice that those lyrics were a bit different? Guess what he was referring to?" This will work for anyone who watched the superbowl, and once they realize there was indeed a reference, they will undoubtedly be impressed.

Also, the FRC logo on the helmet was clearly will.I.am's best possible effort to fulfill Dean's request to wear the hat without ruining the costume. I'm shocked that people are criticizing him for breaking a promise when he (1) never actually promised anything and (2) attempted to fulfill it anyway.

Making FIRST mainstream will take a lot more time and effort than a simple celebrity endorsement. The fact that we even got a reference in the superbowl is amazing. Now let's get back to work...

[goldenglove002]

Originally Posted by viperred396

Link?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-...1616518?v=wall

[BrendanB]

This production has been in the works for several months at least! The actors, stage, songs, and the like were not decided in the past two weeks! I'm sure will.i.am did what he could and the result was what we saw and it was more than he needed to do! Dean gave him the hat hoping he would wear it, he never said he would wear it nor was he required.

Could you imagine all the agents and producers with all of these artists who would have had major problems is he turned it into a FIRST sideshow?

[whackedwatchdog]

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...84063051616518 Will take you to the two pictures of it, http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...976 700_n.jpg is the clearer one, and http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...288 102_n.jpg is the slightly granier of the two.

Edit: Beaten to it!

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by J-Blondie

Getting any celebrity to notice us is not the goal of FIRST.

That's a pretty broad statement. Go back and review Dean's comments during Kick Off and apply that statement to the concept of having members of the entertainment industry shine a spotlight on FIRST. In my opinion, if the spotlight is handled with care and wisdom, it can be helpful. If it is handled carelessly, then FIRST will contend with the results.

Think about how often we note having seen Dean Kamen on TV or read articles about Dean Kamen and/or his inventions. Many of us pay attention to what's going on in the space program because of the connection that Dave Lavery has to it. We celebrate the years that the Mars rovers have been on Mars and we look forward to new explorations and challenges. Look at the difference that teams are making. For example, The New Cool is a book that I'm really looking forward to reading.

We have to keep our focus while continuing to develop the programs in FIRST and in STEM initiatives but it doesn't mean we should isolate ourselves while doing so. As the programs continue to grow and develop, there needs to be a mindfulness about how to do so in ways that spotlight the best we have to offer. And, of course, even as we tend to argue, disagree, criticize, critique, and analyze, we can always be gracious. That doesn't take rocket science.

Jane

[XaulZan11]

I'm not surprised at all that he didn't mention FIRST. In the grand sceme of things, we are very very very small. Hopefully one day it will change, but we aren't there yet. I find it a little silly that people are actually upset Will.i.am didn't blatently call out FIRST.

I actually don't think his hat shows the FIRST logo. I've seen the pictures and just don't think it is. I think us FIRSTers are looking for what we want to see. I watched and listened to the halftime show along with my friends, who have heard of FIRST from me talking about it, but none of us picked up anything FIRST. If people who know about FIRST didn't pick up the references/logo, there is no way the typically person did.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

I'm not surprised at all that he didn't mention FIRST. In the grand sceme of things, we are very very very small. Hopefully one day it will change, but we aren't there yet. I find it a little silly that people are actually upset Will.i.am didn't blatently call out FIRST.

I actually don't think his hat shows the FIRST logo. I've seen the pictures and just don't think it is. I think us FIRSTers are looking for what we want to see. I watched and listened to the halftime show along with my friends, who have heard of FIRST from me talking about it, but none of us picked up anything FIRST. If people who know about FIRST didn't pick up the references/logo, there is no way the typically person did.

Actually, FIRST staff has confirmed that it's a FIRST logo.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-...84063051616518

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Libby K

Actually, FIRST staff has confirmed that it's a FIRST logo.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/First-...84063051616518

So FIRST recieved confirmation from Will.i.am that it is the logo or is the FIRST staff just thinking it is the FIRST logo?

[Alivia]

If he DID wear the FIRST logo and/or give a shout out via his lyrics, that's pretty cool.

If he didn't, I'm not quite getting what the big deal is.

I'm too busy thinking about ways that MY team can spread the word of FIRST than waiting for someone else to do it, I guess.

Besides...two weeks ( ) til ship doesn't leave much time for worrying about such things!!

[Trent B]

Additionally he never made a promise, people just made false assumptions and held him to it.

It is done and over with, it is best to move on rather than dwell in the past.

[Joe G.]

Maybe I'm the only one, but I'm actually glad that they didn't get up there and make a blatant "FIRST is cool, go check it out" statement. Why? Because more likely than not, it would have backfired. The purpose of the half-time show, and in fact the entire Superbowl, is entertainment. Entertainment is what people expect, and the masses would have been dissappointed in anything less, or more, than that. Anything more than entertainment, in the direction that some of you seem to have expected, would have been interpreted as little less than outright product placement. And the fact that we are a fan of the product being placed, or the fact that it's a genuinely good product, doesn't make the action any better...would you have said "oh wow, this is really great!" if he had made a shout-out to Pepsi, or Bridgestone, or any of the products being advertised throughout the game?

I realize that there's a difference between FIRST and a soft drink. But people who do not know about FIRST, do not know this. I guarantee, if he had made a blatant shout-out, the reaction of the masses would have been "Oh wow, Will.I.Am has totally sold out, lets see what dumb organization paid him off." Not the kind of publicity you want.

In this case, subtle is good. This isn't going to change the culture overnight, and it would be unreasonable to expect the superbowl halftime show to do that. Most people won't have noticed a thing. But the few that might have will be curious. Maybe there'll be an interview, news story, or something that'll get a bit more publicity. It won't be revolutionary. But it won't be terrible either.

And besides, the real sign that FIRST is changing the culture is not what Will.I.Am puts on his hats. Its the people who sat around their computers at kickoff, listened to Will.I.Am get introduced, and said things like "Who?" and "Aw, I wanted to hear Dean Kamen speak."

Everyone just remember, we're not a big community, and that's not going to change overnight. But to change it eventually, we have to hang together, and embody the ideals that we work to spread.

.02

[gblake]

I suppose I can see some blurry Red, White and Blue splotches in the pictures folks have posted - But I think I have seen clearer pictures of Big Foot.

I look forward to some confirmation (web site articles, tweets, facebook updates) from the artists - That would be pretty interesting.

Please remember that non-FIRST folks (like the entire rest of my family) might not have detected anything noteworthy (about FIRST/STEM/Robotics) at all during the performance.

Anyone (who isn't a Black-Eyed Pea) needs to tread lightly when/if trying to create some buzz using tonight's performance.

Blake

[alectronic]

I got a pretty good screen shot of it from the show!

[Trent B]

Originally Posted by Joe G.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I'm actually glad that they didn't get up there and make a blatant "FIRST is cool, go check it out" statement. Why? Because more likely than not, it would have backfired. The purpose of the half-time show, and in fact the entire Superbowl, is entertainment. Entertainment is what people expect, and the masses would have been dissappointed in anything less, or more, than that. Anything more than entertainment, in the direction that some of you seem to have expected, would have been interpreted as little less than outright product placement.

You are very right, it would more likely than not create a preconceived notion that FIRST is some organization that buys out celebrities to promote them, probably not the best image for FIRST in my mind.

I personally wasn't expecting anything blatant. I was expecting a subtle mention if anything because I am sure the NFL, like the consumers, wouldn't appreciate a shameless plug for another organization, that often butts heads with sports on a team level, in the middle of their most prestigious program.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by Trent B

It is done and over with, it is best to move on rather than dwell in the past.

Final question on this topic: Why do we give a care if some "artist" wants to wear a hat that no one would know anything about during some performance of a sport only watched in one country. Why do we care about recognition from someone who doesn't seem to care enough to not use drug slang as an adjective when talking to high schoolers? Doesn't seem like a good role model.

Maybe I'm just irked that our president took a back seat to this guy. Maybe I'm just not "dope". Heck, maybe I'm just plain out un-hip. I think there are much better advocates out there. I'm sure there are dozens of athletes who would endorse FIRST. Dozens who can communicate effectively and know the value of teamwork and putting in effort.

You want publicity in the Super Bowl? Buy an ad. Don't get mad when people won't do things for you for free.