Commercial Considerations

As I was watching the end of the Blues game last night, wondering if I should enjoy the victory (which is preferable: a meaningless two points or a better chance in the lottery?), one of the Blues ubiquitous “Bluenote” code commercials came on. You know the ones—the commercials where members of the team talk about “good being the enemy of great,” and saying the code means doing “whatever it takes.” When the season started, we didn’t know that “it” included having one of the worst power plays in the league. We also didn’t realize until later that while “good” might be the enemy of “great,” it is still damn close friends with “mediocre.”

Why were these commercials still running at this point in the year? What could they be generating for the team: increased revenue and greater ticket sales, or increased sarcasm and reduced credibility?

It seems the big three sports teams in St. Louis put all of their advertising eggs into one single campaign, and stick with it regardless of a team’s actual play. That’s why the Rams were still telling fans that “you gotta believe” when the team was 0-8. Gotta believe in what? That the team could go 0-16? That the Linehan hire was a disaster?

Here’s a humble suggestion: why not have a back-up campaign, just in case the season goes south? One of the Rams’ commercials featured Isaac Bruce claiming, “I believe.” A few games in, that commercial seemed like a cruel joke. How easy would it have been to shoot a second version, with the Rev. Ike saying, “I believe . . . in the Lord above. Our offensive line, however, gives me considerable pause.” The Blues could have shot alternative versions of their commercials featuring Keith Tkachuck saying, “The Bluenote code . . . is more a loose set of guiding principles, with loose being the key word here. In fact, I’m pretty sure codes are forbidden under the current collective bargaining agreement.”

I hope the Cardinals are listening. Right now, their slogan—“Play like a Cardinal”—means playing with much better than expected starting pitching and inspired play by outfielder Rick Ankiel. I hope it stays that way. If in a few months, however, playing like a Cardinal means playing 15 games below .500, we here at Get a Sporting Life humbly offer our services as ad copy writers. Example: “When we said play like a Cardinal, we didn’t say which Cardinal.” (Quick, somebody see if Steve Lake is available to shoot a commercial.)