The A's are among the growing crop of MLB teams using humorous themes and a light-hearted approach in their local advertising, as evidenced by the latest iteration of their "Green Collar Baseball" campaign. The effort from the team and its advertising agency, Hub Strategy & Communication, S.F., is now in its fifth season. Two ads have already been launched digitally and on local TV, with six more spots forthcoming throughout the season. The campaign, which aims to show that the A's are willing to take an innovative approach to on-field success, also will include print and outdoor components. The "Green Collar Baseball" slogan again will be integrated throughout team marketing materials. A new aspect of this year's effort is tying individual spots to specific promotions. For instance, the "Emoji" ad links up with a giveaway of T-shirts that will feature emoji-style depictions of P Sean Doolittle, CF Coco Crisp and P Sonny Gray. A's Senior Dir of Marketing Troy Smith explained that the team goes for laughs in the ads because it views humor as the best way to introduce fans to the players and their personalities. He said the club is "lucky enough to have players with great senses of humor." He also noted the A's are not reluctant to place their newest personnel in the creative, with recent roster additions like DH Billy Butler and 3B Brett Lawrie making appearances. Smith: "We embrace having new players be a part of our spots." One of the ads, "#Winning Pt. 2," is a sequel to a spot that ran last year. Smith said that the first "#Winning" ad was "so well-received" that the team decided to resurrect the premise, which involves Doolittle teaching the coaching staff how to become more social media-savvy.
