The Toronto Blue Jays want to become synonymous with two words – and they aren’t ‘World Series,’ although that might be nice too. The words are ‘value and affordability,’ or at least that’s the intention of a new print, TV and radio campaign by Toronto’s MacLaren McCann that debuted March 8.

‘You gotta see these guys play’ has been added to the tagline ‘Baseball North’ and it illustrates the club’s overall objective to portray its players as more approachable. ‘In research a year ago and before that, fans said the players were detached and inaccessible,’ says Rob Godfrey, SVP, communications and external relations, who adds that the Jays have been visiting hospitals and getting involved in amateur baseball to raise their presence in the community. ‘Through this ad campaign, we [hope to] humanize them and [get across] their quirks.’

There are six TV spots in total. One shows pitcher Roy Halladay strolling along the beach. He picks up a stone and whips it into the ocean, sinking a battleship in the process. Another has infielder Orlando Hudson making a protein shake. He adds several fruits, a bobblehead replica of an opposing player, and then turns on the blender.

According to Godfrey, while the affordability message is geared at parents, the value message communicated in the irreverent ads is aimed at kids aged nine up. ‘It’s about creating the cool factor. We realized that instead of marketing like PlayStation, we had been marketing like Robitussin, which doesn’t talk to children at all. The message to kids is that these are cool, young players.’

Ironically, it was the SARS crisis that made the baseball organization realize affordability was something it could also promote a lot more.

Says Godfrey: ‘We did $1 and $2 games, for seats that were regularly priced at $9. We had a great response and we realized that people probably didn’t know about the $9 price. That’s why the focus is on value and affordability – it costs less for four people to attend a Jays game than it does a movie.’ Thus radio and print ads will centre on price and promotions like $2 Tuesdays during April and May.

The media budget for the campaign hovers around the $1 million mark, although factoring in contra deals and in-game advertising would bring it closer to $3.5 million, according to director of consumer advertising Jim Bloom.

‘You gotta see these guys play’ builds on last year’s Baseball North campaign, which, in addition to other marketing efforts, had positive results. The Jay’s registered database on the Web grew 150% and TV ratings climbed 30% in 2002/03, compared to a flat 2001/02.

Client: Toronto Blue Jays

Agency: MacLaren McCann

Senior Creative Directors: Jon Frier

and Sean Davison

Creative Team: Richie Boenhke and Jason Kinsella

Brand Director: Joe Donaldson

Senior Account Executive: Nadia Risio