Tales from Tru – Part I

Note from Cyn: Longtime readers and friends of the RSC know “Tru” very well! He’s graciously offered to occasionally contribute to the blog in times when the spirit moves him. Below is something he sent me this week that I thought you’d all enjoy! (I won’t be bringing the laptop with me today – so this should hold folks over until I get home later tonight. The rain has stopped for now – go Sox!)

Okay, let me get this out there before I go any farther; I do not hate the New York Yankees.

As a lifelong Sox fan, I’ve at times been jealous, envious and in truth, in awe of their unparalleled success. I’d always held dreams that some day the Red Sox would be the envy of all the world of baseball. In the last several years, we are beginning to rise to that level of success, with a lot more to accomplish before parity is achieved. And, it’s not that I seek parity, rather, I hold interest in gaining a modicum of respect. Respect is good, and among players in the off season, as opposed to the heat of play, Boston has been getting their just due.

At the same time, there are reasons, really good reasons to dislike all that the Yankees have come to represent. We’ve seen the worst of that on the field, when they seemed to find ways to edge our guys out, or we simply bobbled away the opportunity. I do not need to punish myself re-living all of that, but know it has been a constant thorn that has refused to fully dislodge. We’ve also seen the best and worst of the players off the field that makes the dislike or admiration equally heightened. Off the field, coming out of their corporate spire, there have been things that would otherwise be considered criminal. Literally, criminal. So fine, no ownership is without its warts, and Boston has a legacy of its own that is not particularly pretty. The idea is that no one is naive and in a highly competitive sphere like professional baseball, once kids become adults and are able to fully comprehend matters that deal with how baseball and teams really operate, a piece of that little kid is squished and pushed out of the minds eye.

So what is this little thing I’m writing all about?

Yesterday, the ad agency that handles our media efforts paid us a visit. Our focus this year is to build on messaging in trade publications, with specific emphasis on trust. They brought story boards, with captions, which underscored the premise of the graphics used. Images, as we all know are very powerful. One of the most successful ad campaigns ever run dealt with hungry children. We all know that Sally Struthers was a poor choice of spokesperson for hungry kids, as she seemed too well fed. The notion that she had no earthly idea of what hunger was caused those ads to be ridiculed on late night TV, and in same cases, hurt the cause. Now I might be a stupid guy, seemingly insensitive, as Ms Struthers might very well give a damn about hungry kids, but that feeling was not as well conveyed as one would have hoped for. The successful ad was the “take a bite out of hunger”, which depicted a sandwich with a bite taken out of it. It was simple and almost made you feel a little guilty about our own bounty while little kids did not. It was touted as the most successful ad campaign for charity work.

The gal who pitches the concepts for her agency is a high powered, incredibly talented and energetic person. Her enthusiasm could light an entire country. As she went over each concept, she then appealed to me to keep an open mind. She had fostered the idea that she could translate the idea of trust by combining that message with my love of baseball. As she spoke of that, I began to think about if that could be done, it would be very cool. I immediately thought of how I had to trust guys in the Sox front office, and coaches, Tito and the players. I imagined how they had to all trust in each other, and became excited to see the graphics and the message.

This is what she showed me.

My reputation is such that I’m not a particularly quiet guy. But the reaction to the illustration and message had me speechless. They all stared at me, waiting for the reaction to what they’d just explained and showed to me. Fully perplexed, I began to stumble for words… “uhhh, I mean, hhhmmm, well, ah”, I must have sounded like Johnny Damon talking about astrophysics. Not wanting to offend the gal, I said that one was okay, but there were other concept pieces I liked better. She pressed saying that the piece was perfect, gave the reader the right impression, and truly evoked a sense of trust; trust that could represent our company. As I carefully pushed back, the conversation down spiraled, and I found myself telling her that we could not run an ad that so overtly spoke to illegal doping and under no circumstance could I ever allow the cartoon to show a team emblem on the cap. I explained that every person I did business with knows all too well how invested I am in the Red Sox. I also protested the idea that the ad was more of an editorial on the state of baseball and an indictment of the New York Yankees. No way this ad will ever find its way to print as long as I run the company.

And then they began to laugh. Big belly laughs.

And slowly, so did I.

They got me, but good. And on opening day no less.