Spring Release: Ads For Two MLB Videogames To Debut Friday

2K Sports, Sony To Break Commercials Friday For Upcoming Baseball Videogames

Commercials for both 2K Sports' "MLB 2K8" and Sony's "MLB 08 The Show" videogames, the "only two baseball games coming out this year that will be officially licensed" by MLB, will debut Friday, according to Kamau High of AD WEEK. 2K Sports is utilizing a campaign by Neiman Group, Pennsylvania, called "I wanna" that features narration by actor Denis Leary. The campaign, which is not yet finalized but "will have roughly 26 commercials that will be a mixture of 60-, 30- and 15-second spots," will feature a mix of "clips of live baseball play with video game footage." Eleven of the ads will air on nets such as ESPN, G4 and FSN, with the rest being shown "online at a microsite that is under development." Mets SS Jose Reyes, the cover athlete for the game, will appear in 11 of the spots, three of which will be in Spanish. Meanwhile, Sony's campaign via Deutsch/LA, California, features its cover athlete Phillies 1B Ryan Howard in two 30-second spots that Sony Product Marketing Manager Troy Mack described as "staying true to the game." As part of the campaign, two Cadillac Escalades are "traveling around to spring break locations and spring training facilities in Florida and Arizona, distributing T-shirts and letting people play the game" (ADWEEK.com, 2/26).