The Sports Info Business

The 2010 All-Star game is a few weeks away, but leave it to the Disney team to launch a unique way to promote the mid-summer classic while tying the baseball event to consumer products and the Orange County-based theme park.

The promotion came about as a partnership between Disney Consumer Products and Major League Baseball Properties.  Here is the concept:  Disney desgined thirty-six varieties of life-sized MLB-themed Mickey Mouse statues across heavily populated destinations throughout Southern California in honor of the 2010 MLB All-Star Week festivities.  As you can see to the right, I took a picture of this Arizona Diamondback Mickey which was showcased at the of the local Orange County outdoor malls.

The week-long all-star festivities take place July 9th – 13th in Anaheim, Calif. As part of the previously announced new collaboration between the organizations.  In addition to the Diamondbacks Mickey, the statues are being placed in high-profile areas throughout Anaheim, Los Angeles, and surrounding areas in Southern California.  This includes includes Angel Stadium, Anaheim City Hall, Downtown Disney, the Kodak and El Capitan Theatres in Los Angeles as well as L.A. Live and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The 36 life-size statues, commissioned in conjunction with MLB licensee Forever Collectibles, are uniquely decorated with bold graphics featuring each of the 30 MLB Clubs as well as four All-Star designs, an American League and a National League design. Each life-sized statue is 7.5 feet high and weighs 989 pounds.

I have included a complete list of statues and locations at the end of this entry.

“Major League Baseball is excited to bring the 2010 All-Star Game to Anaheim and we want fans all throughout Southern California to feel like they are a part of the entire experience,” said Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Major League Baseball in a press release. “As an iconic figure, Mickey Mouse is the ideal ambassador to connect fans with the premiere sporting event of the summer.”

As part of the overall promotion, miniature versions of each of the statues are available in a 7.5-inch size through MLB.com and DisneyStore.com, as well as additional retailers including MLB stadium shops, Walgreens and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Photos of all variations are available at MLBPressBox.com and DisneyConsumerProducts.com.

All-Star Game Disneyland Esplanade (near Disney’s California Adventure)

All-Star Game (Angel Stadium) — The Grove Anaheim – Front Gate All-Star Game

(Stars & Stripes) — Anaheim Convention Center – Outside Main Lobby Entrance

All-Star Game (Vintage) — Anaheim City Hall

American League — Hilton Anaheim – Lobby

National League Mickey — Anaheim Marriott – Outside Main Entrance

Angels — Angel Stadium of Anaheim – Home Plate Gate area

Astros Long Beach Towne Center – Promenade

Athletics The Muzeo, Anaheim – S. Anaheim Blvd

Blue Jays — Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa – Main Entrance

Braves — Disneyland Esplanade (near Disney’s California Adventure)

Brewers — The Strand at Huntington Beach-5th St. & Pacific Coast Hwy

Cardinals — Downtown Disney – Outside Build-A-Bear Workshop

Cubs — Orange County Zoo, Orange – Main Entrance

Diamondbacks — The District at Tustin – The Promenade

Dodgers — Music Center – Performing Arts Center of L.A. County Plaza

Giants — Fashion Island, Newport Beach – Nordstrom Court

Indians — Industry Rag, N. La Brea – Inside store

Mariners — Kodak Theatre, Hollywood – Visitor Information Center

Marlins — Downtown Disney – outside ESPN Zone Restaurant

Mets — The Irvine Spectrum Center – Carousel Court

Nationals — Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga – Guest Services

Orioles — Newport Sports Museum – Main Entrance

Padres — South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa – Carousel Court

Phillies — Hollywood & Highland Center, Hollywood – Central Courtyard

Pirates — L.A. Union Station – Main Hall

Rangers — The Village at Orange – near Game Stop

Rays– Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach – Lobby

Reds — Holiday Inn Express Walk of Fame, Hollywood – Outside Main Lobby

Red Sox — Discovery Science Center, Santa Ana – Outside Main Entry

Royals — El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood – Soda Fountain & Studio Store

Rockies — The Market Place Irvine – Near Sports Authority

Tigers — Crowne Plaza Anaheim Resort – Lobby

Twins —  Anaheim GardenWalk – Rock Garden Court

White Sox  – Holiday Inn Santa Monica – Outside Main Lobby

Yankees — L.A. LIVE – ESPN Zone Restaurant Lobby

Background on the 2010 All-Star Game

The 81st Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 13th in Anaheim and will feature the best of the American League taking on the top players of the National League. Building up to the excitement of the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball will conduct a wide variety of special events and charitable activities for fans both inside and outside of Angel Stadium of Anaheim. At the ballpark, the events will include Taco Bell All-Star Sunday on Sunday, July 11th featuring the XM All-Star Futures Game and the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game, and Gatorade All-Star Workout Day on Monday, July 12th featuring the State Farm Home Run Derby on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio. Outside of the ballpark, fans will have an opportunity to experience All-Star Summer through a variety of special events including Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest, the five-day interactive fan festival; the All-Star Game Charity 5K & Fun Run, a charity run/walk on a baseball-themed route to benefit four cancer organizations; and the MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Show presented by Chevy on MLB Network, a free parade of All-Stars through the streets of Anaheim. The Midsummer Classic will be televised nationally on FOX, broadcast on ESPN Radio and will be shown around the world by Major League Baseball International. For more information about 2010 All-Star Summer, visitwww.AllStarGame.com.

I was recently contacted by the folks who are connected with Doritos and asked if I would write about the finalists in their fourth annual “Crash The Super Bowl” Challenge.

Let me say from the outset, that I have always loved Doritos, but no one has offered to pay me to write this.  They didn’t even offer to stack my house for the Super Bowl with a care package in exchange for writing a word or two (not that there is anything wrong with that) but I will say, the company has moved to a level of activation that others have not.  Today, just running a 30 second commercial and spending millions of dollars for brief mentions during the super bowl is not enough.

The Doritos brand has revealed six finalists selected from more than 4,000 entries in the fourth annual Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” challenge.  The contest encouraged people to make their own commercial, submit it and then people would vote on the best of the best.

Here are the six videos (in no particular order) that have made the finals.

According to the promotion, you can now vote for a finalist once a day at www.crashthesuperbowl.com between January 5 and 31, 2010.  If you are not keeping track at home, that gives you until tomorrow to do so…

Contestants are not only competing to have their self-made Doritos commercials aired during the Super Bowl XLIV broadcast, they are shooting to make history by beating the ad pros and garnering the top three spots in USA TODAY’s annual Ad Meter.  If they can do it, Doritos will award the winners a shared $5 million cash prize.

Online consumer voting will determine which three of the six finalists will air as Doritos’ Super Bowl commercials during the big game on February 7, 2010

Two more to go…..

Which one is your favorite?

Here is the bottom line.  The company was able to activate thousands of people to make commercials, even more to vote and place these commericals online, where they will live for a long time to come for people to see.

The investment will pay off by allowing others to talk about the brand in a new and unique way.  It is something I helped lead in my last corporate position.  Bravo.