Saquon Barkley trolls Giants with new Unisom commercial
Even with Saquon Barkley not suiting up against the Giants this weekend, the Eagles star running back still managed to find a way to stick it to his former team.
In a series of new ads for sleep aid product Unisom, Barkley trolled the Giants by poking fun at a now-infamous moment from “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York York Giants” involving team owner John Mara.
“I might have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly, I’ll tell you that. I’m just being honest, as I’ve told you.” Mara told general manager Joe Schoen during an offseason conversation documented by the HBO camera crew.
In the ads that were posted to Barkley’s Instagram on Thursday, he appeared to play off those remarks from the Giants’ owner.
“I’m Saquon Barkley. I’ve heard you guys have had some trouble sleeping lately,” the running back said in the ad. “We got a big game coming up. You should rest up. Maybe try some Unisom. I don’t need it. But you might. I’m gonna sleep like a baby.”
In another ad that was posted Thursday, Barkley referenced the 2,000-plus yard rushing season he’s had this year – the first of his career – while again seemingly poking fun at his former team.
“I heard some of you were having trouble sleeping,” Barkley said. “So I wrote you a lullaby: ‘Rockabye baby, awake in your bed, as the thought of 2,000 swirls in your head. It sure is tough to lose sleep over football. Not for me, though. Goodnight to you all.’”
The release of the social media campaign came just days before the Giants and Eagles were slated to play one another for the second and final time this season, with the two clubs headed in very different directions.
In an interview with Sports Business Journal, Unisom CMO Claudine Patel said the company had reached out to Barkley’s reps after the Mara clip from “Hard Knocks” went viral and she said that Barkley was “pretty excited about the idea of it.”
“We just took the opportunity on a moment that went viral and has a lot of meaningful connection to our brand,” Patel said. “It could be a really tongue in cheek and fun way of leveraging social and leveraging his fandom.”
Even tongue in cheek, the ads have to hit home a bit for the Giants considering the way things have panned out since Barkley did sign with the Eagles on a three-year, $37.5 million in the offseason.
Barkley has been a dominant force on the ground for the Giants NFC East rival and with 2,005 rushing yards this season, he is 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
Nevertheless, with Barkley expected to sit out on Sunday, he will come up just short.
Had Barkley played, it would have set up the chance for him to set the record against his old club, which Barkley said would have been “special.”
“It would have been special to do it against the Giants, but not for the reasons how you guys would probably perceive it to be,” Barkley told reporters on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, I got nothing but love and respect for those guys over there. There’s a lot of trainers, coaches, and strength guys that helped me out with my ACL, helped me out with my injuries, and I wouldn’t be able to be the player I am today without those guys over there too. So it would have kinda been like a full circle moment.
“At the end of the day, it’s not in God’s plan. I got bigger things in mind. We have a chance to rest and get ready to roll for the playoffs.”
