MLB Uses Lasorda to Woo Baseball Fans in Losing Cities

According to Brand Week, MLB "breaks a campaign today starring Los Angeles Dodger fixture Tommy Lasorda traveling to different cities wearing a tuxedo and using 'tough love' to help despondent fans whose favorite teams are not in the playoffs."

Does he plan to come to Boston to convince some Sotuhie kid drinking Buds at the Cask that he should be watching the Yankees in the playoffs? Can we make this commerical "reality-based" to see what happens?

The campaign theme is "Real fans don't hide in October. They celebrate it!" "It includes three TV spots, print, radio ads and MLB's most ‘extensive postseason online media buy,’ according to a league official."

This new postseason media buy is all fine and dandy expect for a couple of items:

* One, if you have ever met Tommy Lasorda, you know he is not the nicest person in the world. When the cameras are rolling he’s great, but when they are off it's a different story.

* Why does MLB wait until the end of the year to pull out these campaigns? This drives me up a wall every year. The sport needs to watch how the NFL and NBA uses their media buys throughout the year. I understand more people are watching fewer games in October and the games are on national TV. It is an opportune time to reach a large percentage of their target audience.

* My issue has always been, why don’t they spend more money on media buys during spring training, when the league and its team are trying to generate interest and sell tickets for the upcoming season. At this point, most of the fans watching games are rooting for specific teams.

Someday I am going to work at MLB headquarters in NYC and find out what they are thinking.