Showing your love for your team is nothing new. Implicating political ideology by virtue of which team you root for is racy, but nothing new. (excerpt from commercial) - "How are you a Yankees fan at all, it's like being a huge fan of fascism." But showing two A-listers going at it, with Alec Baldwin dropping Krasinski flat on his tuckus, is a bit much.
Let me tell you why given the current situation - in case you forgot New Era, a SF Giants fan, most likely wearing your cap, is still recovering in a hospital from a savage beating at the hands of two LA Dodgers fans outside Chavez Ravine (Dodger Stadium) just less than a month ago. (see link) This wasn't a case of robbery, adultery, sheer psychosis, no, this was a simple case of sports rivalry. In sum, a man was hospitalized, sustaining major injuries, simply because he was wearing an opposing team's cap n jersey. Sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it? Making major national headlines, along with a continued investigation, pretty much makes this New Era ad campaign tactless and in the poorest of judgement.
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/04/02/san-francisco-giants-fan-attacked-dodger-fans-outside-los-angeles-ballpark/
We have already witnessed numerous sports rivalries turning sour and leading to violent public displays resulting in death - see football hooligans. Must we incite violence in even our most sacred of sports? I for one am completely taken aback by New Era's ad campaign and I am flabbergasted at how no one on their advertising/creative team neglected to point this out. Millions of dollars are at stake when implementing and executing a proper national ad campaign - due diligence and extensive research is not only paramount, but rather...basic. NEW ERA - ABSOLUTE, UTTER FAIL. You may boost sales exponentially by inciting violence via sports rivalry, but I hold you in the same regard as I do the crap I just took this morning. Wipe my ass for me please.
Couldn't agree more. Unconscionable by New Era and MLB. Many will use the argument that it's just acting, a commercial, and it's funny, that no rational person would think what it depicts is acceptable. But that utterly misses the point. What's shown is excused, premeditated, intentional violence without consequences. It's not that this depiction in the media is a cause of violence as much as it's a symptom of what we have become willing to accept, and even laugh at. Rational people would likely agree that there are limits to what we will tolerate in our public media, particularly under the seal of approval of an American institution, namely MLB. This ad crosses the line of what I think is acceptable.
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