The Mariners kicked off a series of seven ads this week
designed to portray players as "funny and personable -- just
this side of wacky," according to Lee Moriwaki of the
SEATTLE TIMES. In one 30-second spot, manager Lou Piniella
"gravely" intones: "Baseball's a thinking game. Every pitch
you've got to think, concentrate, ask questions." The
camera then pans the field, catching SS Alex Rodriguez in
mid-thought: "Why do the fans sing 'Take Me Out to the
Ballgame' when they're already here?" Catcher Dan Wilson
wonders, "Why is 'abbreviation' such a long word?" In RF,
Jay Buhner looks skyword and asks, "If a cow laughed real
hard, would milk come out of its nose?" As the commercial
comes to an end, a voiceover says, "The '97 Mariners. You
gotta love these guys." Each ad will feature the "You Gotta
Love These Guys" tag line, which the Mariners used last
year. The spots were created by Seattle-based Copacino
Creative and cost about $100,000 of the club's $500,000 ad
budget (SEATTLE TIMES, 3/12).
CARDINALS: The MLB Cardinals have launched their '97
ad campaign with seven TV spots starring Cardinals players.
The campaign, created by St. Louis-based Waylon Inc., is
again themed, "Baseball Like It Oughta Be" (Cardinals).
