Video: Steelers' Troy Polamalu boon for advertisers

Polamalu might play like his hair is on fire during games but he's considered one of the quietest players in the league. To call him soft-spoken would be an understatement. So it's somewhat surprising that the quiet-as-a-church-mouse Pro Bowl safety would be a boon to advertisers.

This is actually a wax figure from Madame Tussauds that made a cameo at February's Super Bowl. (Ryan Wilson, CBSSports.com)

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu might play like his hair is on fire during games but he's considered one of the quietest players in the league. To call him soft-spoken would be an understatement.

(In a 2010 interview with then-Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, we asked him to describe Polamalu's on-field demeanor: "Troy Polamalu doesn't say a [freaking] word," he said.)

So it's somewhat surprising that the quiet-as-a-church-mouse Pro Bowl safety would be a boon to advertisers. But that's the case with Head & Shoulders, the shampoo folks who signed Polamalu back in 2009. ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reports that in the three years since, "the brand has grown 8 to 10 percent in sales among men 25-54, according to Procter & Gamble, parent company of the shampoo line."

We bring this up as an excuse to point out the latest Head & Shoulders spot featuring Polamalu.



We'd be remiss if we didn't mention another Polamalu-related commercial currently making the rounds. It features Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and actor Paul Rudd sporting a No. 43 Steelers jersey as the they battle it out in Madden 13. Rudd's homage to Whiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" is fantastic. The only way this gets better is if Polamalu was actually doing it. (A close second: if Lewis, tired of Rudd's gum-flapping, launches him through the television.)

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our Pick-6 Podcast and NFL newsletter. You can follow Ryan Wilson on Twitter here: @ryanwilson_07.