MLB Rolls Out Its Derek Jeter Tribute Ad, and It's Amazing in Its Own Way

This ad from Major League Baseball honoring Derek Jeter is perhaps the simplest, least epic tribute we’ve seen to the Yankees captain, who, barring an unlikely postseason appearance by the team, will play his final game this Sunday against the Red Sox in Boston.

But for my money, the spot, from BBDO New York, is also the most poignant and moving Jeter tribute of the season, because it eschews grandeur and hype to focus on the future Hall of Famer’s most important legacy: the generations who grew up idolizing No. 2.

They’re embodied here by California Angeles outfielder Mike Trout, the most complete player in baseball today, along with college and high-school stars, right down to Little League phenoms Mo’ne Davis and Marquis Jackson.

In the low-key 30-second ad, we see youngsters copy Jeet’s mannerisms in the batter’s box and at shortstop, intercut with footage of the man himself, followed by the words, “A model of greatness. Thanks, Derek.”

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During his storied 20-year career, Jeter has always given 100 percent on the field—and in an era when so many professional athletes capsize in controversy, agents of their own destruction, the Captain has sailed above the fray, celebrated for his dignified demeanor and respect for the game.

Sure, it’s an image. But that’s the whole point. It’s an image worth emulating, a model for success that transcends Jeter’s many roles—team leader, five-time World Series champ, media celebrity—and gives kids hope that if they follow his example, they can overcome their struggles and achieve something great, whatever that may be.

The Jeter paeans from Gatorade (made with his input) and Nike’s Jordan Brand are each 90 seconds long and stand as suitably heartfelt, dazzling farewells to a player who’s meant so much to so many for so long.

The MLB spot goes deeper. It reminds us why heroes are important in an increasingly complex, confounding and cynical world, and gives Trout and his superstar peers a lofty standard—beyond wins, stats and multi-year contracts—to swing for.



When Brands Bite Back: World Cup Edition

Just when you thought nothing interesting was going to come of the World Cup following that gut-wrenching tie against Portugal, we have a notable player accused of mastication.

During a game that pitted Uruguay against Italy, Luis Suarez (the gentleman seen checking his incisors above) got in a tangle with Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini (the other guy). And then, Suarez got the munchies and bit Chiellini. Thank God for Twitter, because some notable brands decided to have some fun at Suarez’s expense with hashtags, original thoughts, subtle product placement, and even a few sponsored tweets.

It was all in fun, of course, until Suarez got suspended for nine games and banned from “any football-related activity” for four months.

(more…)

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Andrew McCutchen Loves His Lox in SportsCenter Ad for Opening Day

Are you ready for some baseball?

ESPN has Major League Baseball's Opening Day covered today with a new "This Is SportsCenter" spot starring the reigning National League MVP, Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The commercial, running online and on ESPN properties, shows a breakfast meeting for the SportsCenter anchors going awry when McCutchen and a band of Pirate mascots (Pittsburgh's Pirate Parrot, East Carolina's Pee Dee, Seton Hall's Pirate and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Captain Fear) break in and loot the breakfast spread.

The ad, by Wieden + Kennedy in New York, breaks this afternoon during ESPN's broadcast of the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Chicago Cubs.


    



Robinson Cano’s Aura Speaks for Him in First Spot for the Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners considered Robinson Cano to be a heavenly catch this off-season, and there's a divine aura about him in the team's first ad with its $240 million second baseman.

Seattle's Copacino + Fujikado, now its 20th season handling ads for the Mariners, welcomes the 31-year-old with the 30-second spot below, in which Cano doesn't have to utter a word to communicate just how awesome he is.

Agency co-founder and creative chief Jim Copacino tells AdFreak he felt a fair amount of pressure to produce a special debut commercial with Cano. C+F almost got Ken Griffey Jr. to do a spot with Cano (it would have been about how they both wear No. 24, though actually Cano is switching back to his original Yankee number, 22), but Griffey had a conflict and couldn't make the Arizona shoot. So, they went with this spot instead, and Copacino says the shoot couldn't have gone smoother.

 

"With a guy of this magnitude coming in, we didn't want to trivialize him or be too cute," he says. "A writer here, Andy Corbett, a very funny guy, came up with this notion that Cano has this charismatic aura that follows him everywhere he goes—slow motion and music. It was an easy spot to shoot. The first time we worked with him, we didn't want to burden him with too much responsibility in terms of lines and acting."

Four more new ads focus on three other players and on Henry Chadwick, who invented the baseball box score in the 1860s and came up with the letter K for strikeout.

One particularly amusing ad celebrates the old-school style of third baseman Kyle Seager. "Kyle is a quiet, soft-spoken guy from North Carolina," says Copacino. "He says 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir.' He's quietly becoming one of the better third basemen in baseball. He's fundamentally sound. And to me, he just seems like he was plucked from the '50s and put down into modern baseball. It was fun to create this fiction about him being kind of a throwback."

At one point, Seager is seen tweeting from a typewriter. "He said, 'You know, I don't actually tweet,' " says Copacino. "And we said, 'That's fine! In fact, that's perfect!' "
 

 

 

 

 

C+F also put together the highlight reel below of its 20 years of Mariners spots. At least in its advertising, this is a team that's on a long winning streak.

CREDITS
Client: Seattle Mariners
Agency: Copacino + Fujikado
Executive Creative Director, Writer: Jim Copacino
Creative Director, Writer: Mike Hayward
Writer: Andy Corbett
Art Director: Andy Westbrock
Production Company: Blue Goose Productions
Director: Ron Gross
Executive Producer: Bill Hoare
Account Supervisor: Cole Parsons
Account Manager: Melissa Figel
Broadcast Producers: Kris Dangla, Patti Emery
Editor: Troy Murison, Dubs Inc.
Digital Postproduction: Kevin Adams, Workbench
Music: Chris White, Comrade


    



David Eckstein’s Fake Ad for a Fake Law Firm Really Is Inside Baseball

Behold this strange ad-like object, which is half internal joke and half attempt to prove baseball is still down with the hip kids.

It's a fictional ad for a fictional law firm created by Michael Shur, the head writer on Parks and Recreation. Shur used to write a lot about baseball, and made fun of one player in particular—David Eckstein, who got a lot of praise for being scrappy but whose stats were mediocre. Shur named the fake Parks and Rec firm after three sabermetric instruments used to analyze baseball performance: BABIP, PECOTA, VORP and combined them with Eckstein to create the law firm of Babip, Pecota, Vorp & Eckstein.

Recognizing the inside joke when it aired on Parks and Rec in October, MLB.com had Eckstein film a fake commercial for the fake law firm. In it, Eckstein talks about his "scrapitude" and tells those obsessed with statistics, "I have a number for you: four. It's the number of chambers in the best law book money can buy: my heart."

So, if you like baseball, or inside jokes, or fake ads about baseball's inside jokes, I'm pitching this one right down the pike.


    

Corinthians, “Campeão da Libertadores”, transformado em comercial. Só que para um game de baseball.

Eu não vejo a mínima graça nessas piadas envolvendo as palavras “Corinthians” e “Libertadores”. Sim, OK, eu sou corintiano. Mas vocês estão se repetindo!

Eu não dou risada alguma. Ainda mais que essas piadas vem de times que nem a Libertadores disputam – e que também não são os últimos campeões brasileiros.

Tenham um pouco de respeito, infames!

De qualquer forma, imagine que uma dessas piadas velhas – de que o Corinthians só ganha Libertadores no videogame – fosse transformada em um comercial com super produção. Seria esse filme aí para o game MLB 2012, com baseball no lugar do futebol.

No comercial, o Chicago Cubs é o alvo da piada. Eu não conheço a história desse time, mas lembro que, segundo “De Volta Para O Futuro”, eles irão ganhar um título em 2015.

/dica do viniciusrhein

Brainstorm9Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Have You Seen The Observer? FOX TV Takes Viral to New Leve

observerFox Television has taken viral marketing to a new level.  Everyone should take notice.  Spawning from the new hit series Fringe, Fox has launched an ad campaign unlike any seen before.  Rather than relying on the staple marketing ploys of late night talk show rounds, standard TV ads and review/word of mouth popularity, Fox unloads a strategy that is both in-your-face and yet somehow subtle.

Introducing The Observer.  This secondary yet mysterious character now conspicuously appears at a variety of Fox televised events ranging from American Idol to most recently the Major League Baseball All-Star game.  His striking appearance (bald head, no eyebrows, always clad in a suit) and expressionless gaze render him unmistakeably recognizable amongst hordes of otherwise regular-looking people.  The genius of it all?  He goes completely unmentioned by hosts/commentators and the like.  He’s not followed by a screen-length banner trumpeting the show and its airing day and time.  He’s not discussed or called attention to in any manner other than a brief camera shot (as depicted above).

It’s product placement in the most brilliant, subtle manner.  Even those who don’t watch the show can’t help but be struck by his sullen demeanor.  It’s a face that sticks with you.  And for those of us who are annoyed with the banners and obligatory, “Folks, tune into…” spiels interjected into other aspects of our entertainment diet, it serves as the perfect marketing tool.

I, and I imagine many others, now feel compelled to at least sit down for an episode of the show just to see what it’s all about.  All because of a four second clip of a supporting character from a brand new TV show.  Now that’s effective marketing.

Dan Davis is a Freelance Writer carving out his growing resume, specializing in copy writing, and subjects from sports to the arts.  Contact him on LinkedIn.