Yesterday's round-up of the ad campaigns of the 28 MLB teams
mischaracterized the White Sox's approach. Early this year, the
team elicited letters from fans on their feelings toward the Sox
and the game itself with a "Dear Sox" campaign. According to Rob
Gallas, Senior VP of Marketing & Broadcasting, while many were
strike-related, the letters also included very "personal,
poignant and humorous" accounts of the fans' experiences through
the years. The White Sox recently selected the best 75 of the
over 2,000 letters received and shot footage of those fans
relating their baseball and White Sox memories. That footage was
then edited into TV ads, seven of which are already running. The
campaign, which will run throughout the season, is being produced
by the team's ad agency, DiMeo-Rosen Partners of Chicago, and
could include as many as 15 spots featuring 25 fans. The spots
range from a fan who has followed the team since 1925 to a man
who chose to get tatooed with a Sox logo rather than his wife's
name. The fan responses and the ensuing media campaign will also
be featured in radio and newspaper ads, the White Sox game
programs, and the extra footage will be used in scoreboard
vignettes during games. There are also plans for a coffee-table
book, with proceeds going to charity. THE DAILY regrets the
error.
