I should also have added that the money they get somehow depends on their level of participation according to the article, but I find it funny that those two teams are the ones getting the most money. They just happened to be the ones participating the most
Son: "Which team is Houston, Daddy?" Father: "The one with the Pepsi jerseys, son. They're at bat" Son: "Bat?" Father: "Yeah, it's the thing shaped like a sausage that has 'Slim Jim' written on it." Son: "You mean the sausage?" Father: "Yeah - that's the bat." Son: "umm... okay" Father: "We're trying to bring home the guy on second base." Son: "Base? Is that the thing with SpiderMan on it?" Father: "Yeah, that's second base. It's behind the pitcher's mound." Son: "Pitcher's mound?" Father: "Yeah - that's the one with the Andro Ant killer logo on it." Son: "The ant hill?" Father: "Yeah, that's the pitcher's mound. We need to hit this ball over the wall." Son: "You mean, the McDonald's sign over there?" Father: "Yup - that's one of 'em" Son: "Dad, why do we come here - it's like watching TV commercials in real life." Father: "Because it's tradition son. Now eat your $10 hotdog." ... point: the tradition is being eclipsed by the crap. And you traditionalists are the ones who are being exploited for your loyalty to a sport. They're riding you like a cheap w****. -- droxford
As long as someday I can see Richard Hidalgo "thwipp" his webslingers and rob Sosa/Pujols of a homerun, I could care less what they do. Hah.
Who exactly is going to see the bases close enough to see what's on them (besides the players & umps)? Kids aren't going to be able to read it from the stands. And it's not like broadcasts zoom in on the bases - you'd have to be straight above it anyway to see it properly. This is just badly thought out marketing, in my opinion... except maybe the news coverage it will get.
They've already gotten way more than $3.5 million worth of publicity out of it. Great marketing I think
They've already gotten way more than $3.5 million worth of publicity out of it. Great marketing I think Sure, if that was their intent. Their *claimed* intent is to reach kids, few of whom really read CNN or whatnot to learn about this. The actual placement of the items is bad marketing - whether pissing enough people off enough to get controversial news coverage is worth it or not is a different issue.
This is merely a stopping point before putting logos on the unis. Before long, it'll look just like NASCAR.
I have absolutely no problem with advertising on the walls of the park. Can you honestly say that it takes away from the game? I think it is stupid, and a waste of money to promote the logos on the bases (as much as I love Spider-man), but still permissable. I think it would be absolutely horrible to permit advertising of any sort on the players' uniforms. They represent a city and a ball club, not Ford or Budweiser or any other company. I understand that some of you view this as a stepping-stone to putting logos on the uniforms, but baseball fans everywhere could prevent this, if and when it happens. Boycotts of anything can be extremely effective, including baseball. When the league crosses the line, fans can push them right back over it, so I'm not too worried.
I called it ... Ok yeah yeah Page 2 called it Baseball dropping the Spiderman ads on the bases.... http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/7310268
This idea really annoyed me at first. However, after the first week of this sort of advertising, will you really even notice it anymore? How often do you notice the signs on the outfield walls? I never do. Looking back over the thread, I guess I pretty much just restating Behad's post. As far am I'm concerned though, they can put advertising where ever they want. I'll just ignore it like I always do.
"...The plan began to crumble Wednesday night when the New York Yankees said they would only allow the ads on bases during batting practice -- and only for one game that weekend." So we have the Yankees to thank for this. I like this quote. Oakland outfielder Billy McMillon liked the decision. "I just wonder where this leads to. Will it be the Bad News Bears with Chico's Bail Bonds on the back of our uniforms?"
thank goodness. i hope baseball has learned a lesson. ads on the walls, the seats, the fans, the stadium itself, the dugout, the concession stands, the beer cups, the scoreboards, etc, etc... is plenty enough. we don't need ads on the bases.
Well, guess what, no Spidey logos on bases! The public has spoken! http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsbusiness/news/story?id=1796765 Spider-Man will not appear on the base paths after all. One day after hearing the public and media outcry following the announcement of the alliance between the league and Columbia Pictures in conjunction with the summer release of "Spider-Man 2," Major League Baseball officials and Columbia Pictures executives decided to scale back the promotion. "It isn't worth, frankly, having a debate about," commissioner Bud Selig told The Associated Press in Oakland before the Yankees-Athletics game. "I'm a traditionalist," he said. "The problem in sports marketing, particularly in baseball, is you're always walking a very sensitive line. Nobody loves tradition and history as much as I do." The original plan, as announced on Wednesday, was to have a 6-by-6 inch "Spider-Man 2" logo on first, second and third base during interleague games played June 11 to 13. But, on Thursday evening, the two parties jointly announced that the logoed infield bases would no longer be a part of the deal. "We saw some of the polls on the Internet that said that 71 and 81 percent of the fans didn't approve of it," Geoffrey Ammer, president of worldwide marketing for the Columbia-Tri-Star Motion Picture Group, told ESPN.com. "Based on this reaction from the fans, we didn't want to do anything to take away from their enjoyment of the game and if that was the case with this element of the promotion, we could afford to do without it." In an ESPN.com SportsNation poll of almost 45,000 readers, 79.4 percent said they thought that baseball was "selling out" by allowing the "Spider-Man 2" advertisements on the field. "The bases were an extremely small part of this program; however, we understand that a segment of our fans were uncomfortable with this particular component and we do not want to detract from this promotion in any way," said Bob DuPuy, president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, in a statement. Former commissioner Peter Ueberroth told The Associated Press that baseball did the right thing. "I think they made a good decision to change their minds," he said. "I don't think it makes any sense at all. It's a clutter.'' After the release of news of the deal, critics pointed to advertising on the bases as a sign that everything was now for sale. Fay Vincent, who is not only a former baseball commissioner but also a former president of Columbia pictures, called the move "sad." One man even started an online petition to oppose the "Spider-Man 2" logos on the bases "as well as all other 'in field of play' advertisements." As of 7 p.m. Thursday, more than 250 people had signed it. The Yankees, who would receive more money than other teams for running the promotion because of playing in a large market, insisted that they would remove the logoed bases after batting practice and not use them in the one game that they had committed to in participating in the promotion. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, a Washington Republican and former minor league owner, reportedly sent a letter to Selig chastising the new use of space for advertising. "Little Leaguers deserve to see their heroes slide into bases, not ads," wrote Nethercutt, according to The Associated Press. He applauded Thursday's reversal. "I'm glad Major League Baseball is abandoning its plans to put ads on the field this summer," he said. "You don't need Spider-sense to know that bases aren't billboards. "As commissioner Selig discovered, we baseball fans will put up a fierce fight to protect our national pastime. Thanks to the support of fans today, America's pastime will remain pure tomorrow." Other parts of the promotion will be unchanged. Movie trailers will be featured on stadium scoreboards, the logos will be placed in the on-deck circles, and fans attending the games will receive "Spider-Man 2" foam fingers and masks. Movie branding will also appear on a ceremonial pitching rubber and home plate -- both of which will be replaced with the standard white variety once play begins. Executives at Columbia Pictures could have already made their money back in publicity. Sources told ESPN.com that the deal was worth approximately $2.5 million and Eric Wright of sponsorship evaluation firm Joyce Julius & Associates told ESPN.com that Spider-Man II received between $1.8 million and $2.4 million in equivalent advertising time in the first 24 hours after the announcement. Said DuPuy: "We are pleased to be moving ahead with all other elements of this ground-breaking marketing partnership and will continue to pursue new and innovative ways to market the game and engage baseball fans around the globe."
European soccer teams make a lot of money. I personally don't care because the game has sold out long ago. when was the last time you ever watched a baseball game and behind the brick wall of home plate you saw that, a brick wall? It is filled with advertisments from viagra of other crap like that, so some spider webs on the bases don't make me mad anymore, the owners already sold the soul of the game so I don't care anymore.
A buddy emailed this, absolutely hi-larious: http://thebrushback.com/expos_spiderman_full.htm Montreal Expos Ordered To Play Rest Of Season In Spiderman Suits MONTREAL--Now that Major League Baseball has decided against placing Spiderman logos on the bases, the commissioner’s office is looking for other innovative ways to incorporate advertising into the game. After huddling together over the weekend, Selig and chief operating officer Bob Dupuy have come up with a bold new idea: Order the Montreal Expos to play the rest of the season in Spiderman suits. “This is just another innovative and creative way for us to incorporate advertising into the game of baseball,” said Dupuy. “We understand why fans did not want to see logos on bases. People love tradition. Since the Montreal Expos have no tradition, we thought it would be fine to stick them in Spiderman suits for the rest of the season. Who the hell is going to protest? It’s the ******* Expos.” . . . “I’ve always wondered what Spiderman would look like turning a double play, and now I know,” said Mike Piazza. “Why have I always wondered that? Um…you really don’t want to know. Trust me.” . . . “I look like a ***,” said Vidro. “Look at me. I’m wearing tights. My package is bulging out like a ******* ballerina. In Venezuela, they would kill a man for wearing something like this, and then go after his family. Fortunately, I’m from Puerto Rico.” . . . Some players, however, said they didn’t mind wearing the suits in public. Pitcher Brad May explained that Spiderman is a lot more popular than the Montreal Expos. “When I do an autograph session in my Spidey suit, I always get a huge crowd and everyone loves me,” he said. “When I do one in my Expos uniform, people mostly just spit on me and try to stab me with their pens.”
