The score haunts BYU football coach LaVell Edwards. It brings a smile to the University of Utah's Ron McBride, whose Running Utes pulled the off the unthinkable, defeating the Cougars by the score of 34-31. Again.
Seemingly no one is happier with the repeat than Bank One Utah, which has featured the schools' rivalry and that now infamous score in its television commercial spots."Typically when you do a TV spot, you're trying to design it so it lasts for more than one season. That's what we're trying to do with `34-31.' Yeah, right," joked Tim Brown, public relations director of FJCandN, the Salt Lake public relations firm that acted as a consultant on the advertising campaign.
During the fourth quarter of the game, Mont Cunningham, executive vice president of Bank One Utah, and bank president Brad Baldwin speculated at the final outcome.
"We said, "Wouldn't that be something if they each got one more touchdown and that (34-31) ended up being the final score?' " Then the unthinkable happened.
U. fans relish the score as well as the ad campaign. But for the true-blue BYU fan, some of the aspects the campaign is wearing thin. Some consider it salt in a festering wound.
So what's a bank to do?
"That's all to be decided. It's been a great campaign and it's been fun for the whole community. Everyone has paid attention to it. Bank One hit on something great and it went 100 times better for them after Saturday's game," Brown said.
The campaign was developed by the Columbus, Ohio-based bank's national advertising firm, which created a similar campaign in Arizona, pitting the University of Arizona against Arizona State Uni-ver-sity.
The question remains, what will they do for an encore, assuming Edwards and McBride are game to shoot another campaign? In television interviews Monday, both men indicated they would consider another set of commercials.
"That's something we're still in negotiations over. We hope we can put it together," Cunningham said.
If they consent, Cunningham said the bank intends to keep the campaign upbeat.
"We did it all out of fun and on the rivalry of the two coaches. We want to keep it fun and light-hearted," Cunningham said. "Whatever we do, it will in the spirit of a win-win for the schools, the community and the bank.
While Cougar fans may bristle at the reminders of two 34-31 losses, the campaign also poked fun at Notre Dame, which BYU defeated in a non-league contest.
Said Brown: "The challenge now, as with any great advertising campaign, is to make the most of the sequels."