Things are a little different up north with the MLB here in Canada. The repositioning campaign started when J.P. Ricciardi (who worked for Billy Beane of The A’s as made famous in Moneyball) took over as GM of The Blue Jays. Management under Paul Godfrey knew they needed to showcase how unique the offering is up here to bring fans back to the franchise. This wasn’t just about another North American team – this was about players who got where their fans lived. Convincing management that showing a humorous self-deprecating Canadian approach was no easy task, but in the end Baseball North was born. The communication was all encompassing with 10 commercials shot in Dunedin at spring training, 3 print ads and digital media all pushing to season ticket sales. This all culminated in the opening game print ad ‘welcoming’ the New York Yankees that drove Joe Torre to openly complain in The New York Times. That’s advertising that creates an emotional response.
A select few of the other commercials and print ads can be seen below.
