MasterCard's newest baseball-themed ad celebrates the joys of summer and the national pastime.
In a sentiment-laden ad breaking this week, the third "Priceless" commercial to be shot at Dodger Stadium, a family of four takes in a night game from the upper reaches of Chavez Ravine.
As was the case in the McCann-Erickson ad that began the now-iconic "Priceless" campaign six years ago on a World Series broadcast, baseball itself is secondary to the bonding and values shared during a ballpark outing. To the music of Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind," the voice-over states, "Program in the first: $4. Snacks in the fourth: $25. Soda at the end of the seventh: $3. No runs, hits, errors, TVs, meetings or video games — priceless."
Explains Bob Cramer, MasterCard vice president of global sponsorships and event marketing: "It kind of brings the campaign full circle and shows why we fit so well with baseball — because it's about the shared connection people have with the game and escaping from everyone's busy schedule more than the game itself."
After its big-budget MLB promotion last year, MasterCard has dialed back its support somewhat for the 2003 season. It's doing a fair amount of marketing activities in Chicago, however, around the July 15 All-Star Game.
At the game itself, the payment-card association is sponsoring a giveaway of 50,000 envelopes containing a photograph of one of eight former players. A small percentage of the photos (about 200 of them), which are from Steiner Sports and are being distributed gratis, will be autographed by the players.
As in past years, MasterCard also will sponsor a "Hit It Here" promo in which a fan selected at random in the park could win $1 million if a batter hits one of the MasterCard signs during the Home Run Derby or in the All-Star Game itself.
