Cardinals Boost Ad Spending, Launch New Marketing Campaign

View Rick Ankiel's "Play Like A Cardinal" Spot

The Cardinals last month launched their '08 ad campaign under the slogan, "Play like a Cardinal." The campaign, via Waylon Advertising, St. Louis, highlights team attributes including spirit, intensity, teamwork and fun. The first three TV spots of the campaign, featuring C Yadier Molina, and Ps Adam Wainwright and Jason Isringhausen, have begun to air locally, as have five others which include RF Rick Ankiel and 2B Aaron Miles (Cardinals). A Cardinals exec said that "recognizing that the momentum from a new ballpark and a championship 'has stalled,'" the organization is "spending more, and more aggressively, in promotions." In St. Louis, Derrick Goold reported the Cardinals, for the first time in 10 years sent a film crew to the team's Spring Training in Florida "as part of an aggressive and expanded marketing venture to 'create a buzz' about this year's team." Cardinals Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Dan Farrell: "We want to get the players involved again, and we have a lot of young players who have embraced being a part of this campaign. We needed to create a positive buzz about this team, about these young players. ... So we're reinvesting into the image of the club and redirecting it as far as a brand" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 3/30).

WHITE SOX: The White Sox last week launched their ad campaign for the '08 season under the slogan, "White Sox Baseball: Share The Passion. Show The Swagger," which features spots that deal with player and fan interaction. Print ads for the campaign debuted February 3 and include an ad in the April 2 issue of SI featuring manager Ozzie Guillen, DH Jim Thome and 1B Paul Konerko, among others. Two TV spots featuring Konerko, P Javier Vazquez and LF Nick Swisher started airing locally yesterday, and the team's out-of-home execution will begin next week (White Sox).

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