I’m not really sure who came up with this Spider-Man on the bases idea, but I’m glad it didn’t fly.
A day after announcing a novel promotion to put advertisements on bases next month, Major League Baseball reversed course Thursday and eliminated that part of its marketing deal for Spider-Man 2.
“It isn’t worth, frankly, having a debate about,” commissioner Bud Selig said.
Boy, I sure can’t argue with that. Let’s not go all NASCAR here, OK? Leave the ads off the field of play and let’s get on with our lives.
If you want to see “Advertising Gone Wild”, take a look at European hockey. Not only is there advertising on the boards, you’ll find it on the ice, on the seats and on the uniforms. Some teams uniforms look more like NASCAR jackets than hockey jerseys.
Unfortunately, you won’t find young women lifting up their shirts for the camera. 😉
>> “Under the original plan, red-and-yellow ads were to appear on bases — but not home plate — during games from June 11-13. The plan began to crumble Wednesday when the Yankees said they would only allow the ads on bases during batting practice.”
As much as the Yankees are the Great Satan of baseball, I have to admit that I’ve always respected and admired the way the organization is run with class and tradition in mind. This is yet another example of that.
It’s rare to see Yankees players acting up, doing stupid things on and off the field, drawing attention to themselves above the team and that sort of thing. Those who do, rarely remain in pinstripes for long. As much as it pains me to say it, there really does seem to be a “Yankee way” of doing things, which demands respect of the game, emphasizes team over individual, and a code of conduct that other teams don’t impose.
None of this changes the fact that I want the Yanks to go down in flames on the field, but it does reinforce my respect for the organization itself.
According to Stefan Fastis (or whatever) from the WSJ in his weekly gig on NPR, the Yankees had signed off on the deal until the WSJ printed the story on Wednesday and the crap hit the fan; then they backed away just as quickly as they’d signed on. No fools they.
Linkmeister, I believe you meant, “… the crap hit the fans.” Plural. All of us!