Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Were the Tampa Bay Rays' past ads hits?

Baseball slogans are like fireworks. Some you notice; some you don't; and they disappear quickly.

By Tom Zucco, Times Staff Writer
Published February 18, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo (2000)] Jose Canseco and the rest of the "Hit Show" turned in another last-place finish.

Baseball slogans are like fireworks. Some you notice; some you don't; and they disappear quickly. Every February, just as pitchers, catchers and tourists arrive, the Tampa Bay Rays trot out a new slogan designed to sell the virtues of the team. And season tickets. It's really all about anticipation. But since the Rays have finished in last place in all but one of their 10 previous seasons, the focus is often cryptic. Like there's something special there - we just have to find it. Here's a look back at some of the Rays slogans over the years. Baseball fever ... catch it!

Slogan: "Off the wall."

THE CAMPAIGN: Coming off a dismal first season, the Rays were trying to keep enthusiasm high. Or keep it, period. New marketing chief Mike Veeck wanted to make every trip to Tropicana Field a surprise. So he included stunts like letting expectant moms in for free on Labor Day and charging lawyers double on Lawyer Appreciation Night.

WHAT WORKS: Entertainment. If the players can't provide it, Veeck will.

WHAT DOESN'T: Entertainment included hiring 3-foot-2 Dave "the Dwarf" Flood as an official greeter. Veeck was gone by the end of the year.

Grade: A

2000

Slogan: "Hit show."

THE CAMPAIGN: Direct reference to the addition of sluggers Jose Canseco, right, Fred McGriff and Greg Vaughn.

WHAT WORKS: The promise of Tampa Bay's own Murderer's Row.

WHAT DOESN'T: Murderer's Row could turn into Petty Larceny Lane. Which it did.

Grade: D

Slogan: "Raysball."

THE CAMPAIGN: Maybe Donald Trump had something to do with this: The Rays opened the season by firing manager Larry Rothschild and replacing him with Hal McRae.

WHAT WORKS: Simple, yet catchy. Uptown, yet downtown.

WHAT DOESN'T: Is Raysball something we want to be watching?

Grade: B

2002

Slogan: "Heart and hustle."

THE CAMPAIGN: With another spectacularly mundane roster (Ben Grieve, Tanyon Sturtze, Steve Cox), the Rays had little choice but to play up the teams' other attributes. Hey, look, they can run hard.

WHAT WORKS: Sounds encouraging. The "at least they're trying" angle.

WHAT DOESN'T: Heart and Hustle usually hit about .230, Jeter and Ortiz around .320.

Grade: C

2003

Slogan: "It's a whole new ballgame."

THE CAMPAIGN: Built around the arrival of manager Lou Piniella.

WHAT WORKS: Sweet Lou is a Tampa native, former Yankees player and manager, and one of the most respected figures in baseball.

WHAT DOESN'T: Sweet Lou couldn't play for the Rays.

Grade: C

2004

Slogan: "Let's play - It's a Tampa Bay thing."

THE CAMPAIGN: Tagged to a TV ad that showed assorted players doing Tampa Bay-like things - Carl Crawford at Derby Lane, Aubrey Huff at a fishing pier, Lou Piniella managing a local Little League team.

WHAT WORKS: Made Piniella and the players seem accessible and real. This would be the only year the Rays didn't finish last.

WHAT DOESN'T: The slogan wasn't memorable, but the ad was. In the spot, Pinella ended up arguing with an umpire and getting tossed.

Grade: C

2006

Slogan: "Under construction."

THE CAMPAIGN: A direct nod to new principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who took over late the previous year and began radical changes.

WHAT WORKS: Incorporates something many fans had desperately sought - a fresh front office approach. After eight years of Vince Namoli, how could it fail?

WHAT DOESN'T: As with any construction project, there can be delays. And there's that pesky matter of how much payroll would rise.

Grade: B

2007

Slogan: "More than just a game."

THE CAMPAIGN: Spruced up stadium, more fan-friendly activities. The old diversionary tactic.

WHAT WORKS: "Say, the engine in this car rattles." "But have you noticed thelovely paint job?"

WHAT DOESN'T: Only works if the Rays planned to hand out $100 bills to everyone who showed up. They didn't.

Grade: D

2008

Slogan: "We are one team."

THE CAMPAIGN: The front office pried open its wallet a little, solidified the pitching staff, and appears to have slowed the revolving door that is the Rays roster.

WHAT WORKS: Solidarity always works, at least until Memorial Day. Conveys the sense that these aren't plug-in guys tossed together at the last minute.

WHAT DOESN'T: Off the vague-o-meter. Are there other Rays teams out there? And aren't the Yankees, Red Sox , Blue Jays and Orioles also one team?

Grade: D

[Last modified February 15, 2008, 21:24:43]