One week ahead of the first pitch being thrown, Major League Baseball debuted its new season campaign – called ‘This Season On Baseball’ – which frames the sport like a popular primetime TV drama series returning for a new run.
The integrated, multi-platform promotion revolves around the idea that the MLB season is a like a returning blockbuster TV series: with multiple storylines featuring hundreds of characters unfolded across 15 new episodes every night for the next six months.
The spearhead TV commercial reflects a league wanting to help all its fans keep track of the plotlines and brings them bang up to date going into the new season akin to a ‘last time on’ pre-show catch-up.
The debut 60-second, narrated by Walton Goggins with a track by singer/producer Wax Tailor, highlights some of the game’s biggest stars getting ready for what comes ahead leading through to the Fall Classic.
Airing nationally on MLB’s broadcast partner channels (including ESPN, MLB Network, TBS, FOX Sports and FS1) and across MLB’s own digital/social platforms, the spots also drive fans online to check out http://MLB.com/video for more’
There is a strong focus on the sports mega stars: perhaps a tactical response to some league criticism about not marketing its big name stars sufficiently.
Mike Trout is lifting tractor tires and Clayton Kershaw is breaking radar guns, while Giancarlo Stanton is hitting huge home runs (and Bryce Harper hops in an ice bath to keep his body fresh for October baseball).
Indeed, the ‘This Season On Baseball’ spots are fronted yby a who’s who of baseball’s biggest stars: including Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Giancarlo Stanton, Mookie Betts, Edwin Encarnacion, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Felix Hernández, Francisco Lindor, Stephen Strasburg, Rick Porcello, Jose Altuve, Bryce Harper, Jose Abreu, Carlos Correa, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell, Javier Báez, Barry Larkin and Terry Francona.
The campaign was developed in partnership with agency Anomaly NY and the ads were helmed by commercial, music video and short film director Jacob Rosenberg and shot in Arizona and Florida during Spring Training.
The commercials are, as ever, amplified across the league’s channels – including Twitter
#ThisSeason on Baseball … pic.twitter.com/mMQGnwKog1
— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2017
and Instagram –
and are supported by a set of supporting content pieces from clips and GIFs, to images and copy.
In less than a week, the heat is on. pic.twitter.com/d6RKwFLh86
— MLB (@MLB) March 28, 2017
One of the first supporting spots rolling out after the spearhead commercial is a sequel to last year’s successful ‘Bryzzo Souvenir Company – Putting The Ding In Dinger’ spot (featuring Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo from the World Champions Chicago Cubs (with guests appearances from some of their team mates).
‘The excitement that the young talent emerging across Major League Baseball brings to the game is really being felt right now,’ said Tony Petitti, Chief Operating Officer, Major League Baseball.
‘MLB is must-see entertainment with new heroes, stars and stories developing every day and this new creative campaign captures the energy by getting fans excited to watch it all unfold while showcasing our top players and rising stars.’
Activative Comment:
The positive campaign is essentially full of joy for the return of the game and hope for the new season: and the players are seemingly in shape too.
The MLB’s stars look ready, are you?
Evolving out of the MLB’s previous real-time led #This campaigns (see 2016 case study and 2015 case study), there’s plenty we like about this campaign: not least the radar gun saying ‘dang’ after tracking the trajectory of a pitch from LA Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.
.@MLB’s #ThisSeason pump-up trailer gets the people GOING: https://t.co/5wAW0QFiLq pic.twitter.com/kvb5IfesQp
— Cut4 (@Cut4) March 27, 2017
If this campaign doesn’t get current ball fans excited about the new season, we don’t know what will.
#This is working tandem in a parallel roll out with the joint MLB/New Era #CapsOn initiative (see case study).
But, that might just be this campaign’s Achilles heel.
Like a fair few sports properties, MLB is trying to attract younger demographics segments and lower the age of its fan base and, well, Millennials just don’t watch television like Baby Boomers, so we wonder whether pitching the property as a TV show is quite the right thing to do.
Links:
MLB
http://mlb.mlb.com
http://mlb.tv
http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/atbat
http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/attheballpark
http://mlb.com/clubhouse
http://mlb.mlb.com/bts
http://mlb.mlb.com/tickets
http://mlb.mlb.com/shop
http://youtube.com/MLB
http://facebook.com/mlb
http://instagram.com/mlb
http://twitter.com/mlb
http://pinterest.com/mlbofficial
http://mlb.tumblr.com
http://plus.google.com/+MLB
Anomaly NY
