MLB Network Monday broke a 45-second ad entitled "All In One Place" that is a "blend of black-and-white and color footage, with past and present greats mingling" on the network's Studio 42 field, according to Mark Newman of MLB.com. Babe Ruth in the ad "throws a baseball to Willie Mays, while Ty Cobb and Frank Robinson share a private moment on the field." The ad is narrated by MLBN's Bob Costas, and Newman wrote that "gave the production the weight it needed." Newman reported the ad was "seven months in the making," and MLBN VP/Creative Services Chris Mallory noted he and others who worked on the ad "went through 1,000 hours of footage" in putting it together. Mallory and his team "used Flame software for 'infinitely layerable digital compositing' after selecting appropriate footage," which is "how Walter Johnson shakes hands on the field with fellow Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax." Newman noted "two especially difficult challenges" were getting Jackie Robinson to "run out of the Studio 42 dugout in a believable manner" and "pairing black-and-white film with color videotape to show in HD." MLBN President & CEO Tony Petitti said of the spot, "Hopefully fans will take to it and get a kick out of this. We thought about the fact we had all these great guests come into Studio 42, and it got us thinking it would be fun to put players from different generations on the same field in different ways." Petitti also "chose the music track," which is "Lake Michigan" by Brushfire Records' Rogue Wave. (
MLB.com, 2/21).