Hub Strategy Highlights A’s Personalities with ‘Green Collar Baseball’

With the opening series between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks (finally) kicking off the MLB season this Saturday in Australia, Hub Strategy, AOR for the Oakland Athletics, have just launched the fifth incarnation of their award-winning “Green Collar Baseball” marketing campaign for the A’s.

There’s been reason to celebrate in Oakland the past two years, as the A’s have won back-to-back AL West titles. This year, for their integrated campaign featuring “eight television commercials as well as print, outdoor, digital & social advertisements,” Hub Strategy wanted to up the personality factor. There’s certainly no shortage of personality for the A’s, and Hub had a blast working with the players on the new campaign, with Hub CEO/Creative Director DJ O’Neil calling it “by far my favorite work yet.”

The feeling is mutual, as A’s VP of sales/marketing, Jim Leahey, says, “We feel that this year’s TV commercials may be our best ever and we are confident that our fans will enjoy connecting with the fun personalities of our players.”

So far, two of the eight TV spots have been revealed: “Tunnels of Greatness” and “Tarp Therapy.” “Tunnels of Greatness” — featuring Josh Donaldson, Jarrod Parker, Sonny Gray, Sean Doolittle and Derek Norris — is a lot of fun, built around the idea of extending the “Home Run Tunnel” celebration to other, more mundane aspects of the game. “Tarp Therapy,” which references Donaldson’s spectacular tarp catch from last season, isn’t quite as effective. It’s the kind of concept that might look funny on paper, but doesn’t play out so well on tape (although they deserve bonus points for featuring Mike Gallego). Hopefully the rest of Hub Strategy’s “Green Collar Baseball” spots can build on the momentum of “Home Run Tunnel” and give fans one more reason to cheer on the A’s. Here’s the info we have on the remaining six spots:

  • Secrets of the Game: Young players Parker, Gray and Norris turn to veteran Brandon Moss for his secrets to success in the majors.
  • Unicorn 2.0: Doolittle and Parker attempt to take the signature unicorn bullpen ?backpack to another level this year.
  • Generations: Moss learns that for some fans, being on the field for a fireworks show can fulfill a lifelong dream.
  • #winning: Doolittle coaches Bob Melvin, Curt Young and Mike Gallego on social media best practices.
  • Holding Him On: Moss is a talkative guy, and his mouth can be as much of a weapon as his bat.
  • Pre-Internet: Coaches Young and Gallego both reflect on how much has changed since their 1989 World Championship with the A’s.

You can watch “Home Run Tunnel” above, and stick around for “Tarp Therapy,” along with credits, after the jump continued…

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Here are New Ads for the Oakland A’s, an American Professional Baseball Team

Resting on the east side of the San Francisco Bay is Oakland, a small city of just under 400,000 residents.

Best known for its temperate climate, a per capita murder rate twice that of neighboring San Francisco, and having the fifth busiest port in the United States, Oakland is also home to three professional sports teams. Its NFL franchise, nicknamed the “Raiders,” has fallen into disrepair following a period of dominance in the 1970s and 1980s due to poor team management and a myriad of other factors. Its NBA franchise, “The Golden State Warriors,” are best known for being forgotten when one attempts to remember basketball teams based out of California. However it’s Oakland’s Major League Baseball team, the “Athletics” (known colloquially as the “A’s”), that were once featured in an award-winning movie starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

As a trio of TV spots from SF-based agency Hub Strategy show, the A’s are beloved for their players’ and coaches’ quirky habits and for their much-attended giveaway nights. In fact, it’s a northern California tradition for fans and non-fans alike to wait outside the team’s Overstock.com Coliseum for days-on-end, with men, women and children alike sacrificing health and happiness for the chance to walk away with a (presumably) green and yellow fleece blanket, coupons for game tickets and meals, or a bobble-head doll of the New York Yankees’ current active special advisor, Reggie Jackson. Watch one more spot (featuring a player named after a popular brand of chocolate breakfast cereal) and view credits after the jump.

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