Fay Vincent thinks it’s “inevitable but sad.”
Ralph Nader says we have to revolt.
Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert wants us to boycott Sony “for the children.”
And Sgt. Grump says, “ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”
But is it really all that bad? Have we reached the nadir of civilization just because ads for Spider-Man 2 will appear on bases?
Why is it that when ads are plastered all over everything today it’s “evil commercialism,” but when you see pictures of the walls of Ebbets Field or the Baker Bowl it’s “historic” or “quaint”? The “holy shrine of Ruth,” Yankee Stadium, has always had billboards in the outfield, just like every other major and minor league park. Hell, the Green Monster was just a big patchwork of ads until 1947. And was anyone deeply offended by the ads on the players’ uniforms when the Yankees and Devil Rays opened the season in Japan? (I know, some of you were deeply offended that Opening Day was in Japan to begin with, but that’s a different matter.)
I’m more inclined to agree with Dusty Baker: “You’ve still got to touch base, whether they got spiders, scorpions or snakes on them.”
Today’s over-the-top commercialism is tomorrow’s Americana.
Check out the vintage advertising for more evidence that we’ve never really been ad free.
Feh. Whatever.
It ain’t gonna be a big deal, methinks. Hopefully not a sign of things to come, yet probably will…
Personally, though, I’m not at all interested in what Ralph Nader thinks about it. Fay Vincent, yes. Ralph Nader, no. Go back to screwing up elections, Ralph, and leave the baseball to the rest of us. Baseball is a refuge from politics, at least for me.
I would love to rest my eyes on something at any sport for just a second that doesn’t have advertising. If for me – the advertising makes me stay away from that product even more. I mean, we have the “Pepsi center” for basketball and hockey and other events… I’m still a die-hard coke fan and when we are there, I drink water.
I wouldn’t have a problem with it if I thought baseball was going to get something out of it. Baseball has lost an entire generation. If they were getting a PSA before the Spidey show, that would be an awesome trade off (plus the money, of course).
The problem I have is that this marketing does nothing to promote baseball. This promotes Spidey, not vice versa.
Stadiums are outside the context of the actual game. MLB should shun the in-game advertising unless it is a calculated effort to extend the game to new fans. This doesn’t, therefore, I’m miffed.
Ultimately it will be the fans who decide how far this is allowed to go. If the teams alienate their fans, they are finished. Unhappy fans don’t buy season tickets. If fans aren’t going to the games, they don’t buy stuff at the concessions and souvenir stands.
Personally, I see adorning the bases with logos as an unwanted distraction. Now if there were to place Dubya’s face on them, then maybe… 😉
This is being discussed at BaseballMusings. Scroll a few posts down.
Personally, I think it stinks. Bases are supposed to be white, and you could look it up.