Only Extenze is Good Enough for Jimmy's Johnson

ExtenZe Hires Johnson as Pitchman
Ex-NFL Coach to Help Position $150M Male-Enhancement Brand as Mass-Market Product

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- It takes a big man to admit he uses a male-enhancement supplement, and apparently former Dallas Cowboys head coach and current "Fox NFL Sunday" host Jimmy Johnson is just the guy. Mr. Johnson has just signed on as pitchman for late-night direct-response TV advertising staple ExtenZe in a new campaign breaking Monday.

Mr. Johnson isn't the first celebrity pitchman ExtenZe signed up for a campaign, designed to support the supplement as it shifts its focus to distribution through mass retailers such as Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid and GNC. But Robert Yallen, CEO of Inter/Media, the Encino, Calif., direct-marketing agency behind the campaign, said the first spokesman returned the check after starting to shoot commercials and getting embarrassed.

Mr. Johnson is an unabashed user. Though Mr. Yallen declined to say whether he was one before signing the deal, Mr. Johnson is a user now and will attest to that in the 15-, 30- and 60-second ads. "Yes, there was a lot of concern [about potential embarrassment]," Mr. Yallen said. "But I think what we've done is legitimized this category that we brought into being 10 years ago."

Years ago, it was hard getting ads aired both because of the category and name of the product, he said. "Now, we've become very mainstream. ... We're in Walmart. And Walmart's a family store. I think Jimmy realized it's a legitimate product in a very legitimate category now. He's probably one of the few people who can pull this off and get gains in his career from this."

"Most men want to perform the best they can in just about everything," Mr. Johnson says in one spot. "Isn't that why we buy the biggest and best of everything?" He signs off with the tagline: "Go long with ExtenZe. I do."

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infantrycak said:

Do you get a ring for that?

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Vinny said:

it comes in the extenze packet. First you take the pill, then you put on the ring. Make sure to take it off or you may have an erection that lasts for 4 hours...then your pee pee falls off (I think that is the bad part).

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