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May 05, 2004
THIS CUP ADJUSTMENT BROUGHT TO YOU BY LOTRIMIN
Some things are sacred, and this is just wrong. In its first foray into Burger King-like cross-promotion with a movie, Major League Baseball announced that webbed logos for the movie "Spiderman 2" will appear on bases and pitching rubbers at 15 stadiums during interleague play in June.
I'm not some naive babe in the woods who's shocked to find marketing tainting the sport I love. Advertising money has driven all sports for a couple of generations now -- including baseball. World Series games stopped being played during the day during the 1970s because ad revenues were higher in prime time, and the Yankees are able to afford their gargantuan and disproportionate payroll in large part because they own a television network in the largest and most lucrative media market in the world (with the corresponding ad revenues). Stadiums, regrettably, are now named not for heroes of the game or giants of the community, but instead now shill for whatever company's marketing department convinces its board to cough up the most money. And yet, somehow... this still seems worse.
SpinDoc called it "the NASCAR-ization of baseball" in an IM today... and he's dead on. It's one thing to have company logos on outfield walls like in the old days, or to have schedules planned around when the networks want to air the games played in BehemothCorp stadium. But to have movie logos on bases feels dirty -- in the same sense that a one night stand with some girl in a bar seems a little less skanky than paying for a hooker. (Not that I know about either one, Mom!) It might be the same action, but only one leaves you with the feeling that you need to take a shower.
