When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

03.05.2008
Commodify Your Swagger

(With apologies to the Baffler.)

We saw this coming. First Bochy’s comment about “warrior spirit” last year, then the Aaron Rowand January Tour as the new face of the team, then the “Find your swagger” T-shirts to start spring training, and now, the marketing campaign.

The Giants have unveiled their 2008 motto: Gamer. As in, “Dan Ortmeier blah blah blah: He’s a Gamer!”

The ads just went on TV, on busses, but oddly, nowhere on the Internet. Hmm, maybe because that’s where the Lunatic Fringers, computer-ish people and sabermetricians hang out. And they’re all allergic to the word “Gamer.” Unlike Bruce Jenkins, who likes gamers, classy guys, and veteran leadership. (No doubt the official Bruce Jenkins spring training “Gotta Love These Gamers” column will soon be upon us.)

It’s so obvious what this campaign means. This year we play hard. Last year, mmm, not so much. They’ll never come out and admit it, though the players keep dropping massive hints. (See here.)

It’s like a new and improved dishwashing soap. “What was wrong with the last version,” you ask the soap company. “It was just fine,” the Larry Baer of soap marketing replies. “But this one takes dish-washing to a whole different level!”



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[March 5, 2008 7:04 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Jonathan Bass said

The gamer campaign is a bit much. Like most PR campaigns, it's designed to take a positive attribute or cirucmstance (the Bonds-less Giants should play harder, have better chemistry and be easier for a certain type of fan to root for) and accentuate it to the point where it drowns out the negative circumstances (the Bondsless Giants are one of the least talented teams in baseball).

This organization is particularly fond of PR, and it often comes off as if they take their fans for idiots. I wish they would lay off it sometimes, because they have done a lot of admirable things, like financing the ballpark themselves and saving the team from moving to Florida. To me it's their love of PR, and not their lack of baseball savvy, that has netted them a $40 million roster for $90 million. And shoving the "gamer" message seems like an admission that the team made a deal with the devil to have the best show in baseball the last 10 years.

[March 5, 2008 8:57 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Anonymous said

Actually, I've seen the ads on the internet too. I forget where - maybe Baseball Cube, or Sfgiants.com.

[March 6, 2008 12:00 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Cat said

Maybe if the PR department brought back that life coach guy then the ads wouldn't be so cheesy.

[March 6, 2008 11:38 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

What gets my goat the most is the hypocrisy of promoting All-Bonds, All the Time, then as soon as he leaves using thinly-veiled code words that in effect promote his absence (ie, "now we have people who like to hustle") as the new marketing campaign. Shameless.