Opening Day for Major League baseball was last week, and some in the industry jumped at the opportunity to peek at promotional items that teams gave to fans that day. However, it’s no surprise that they were unimpressed with the offerings that day. After all, why give away freebies for the one game that’s sure to sell out?
So ... we waited for the dust to settle on the fledgling 2021 MLB season. Baseball has been giving away promotional products to fans since the 1960s, and some people still associate “promo items” with ball games.
Everything from bobblehead dolls to team logo-stamped baseballs, plastic faux batting helmets, seat cushions, small umbrellas, and of course team caps have been given away in an effort to put more rear ends in stadium seats.
Aside from driving up attendance, some clubs hope their promotional game will attract other attention, and hopefully get a public relations bump in the process. The San Diego Padres garnered quite a bit of regional media attention in 2003 when it gave away a bobblehead fashioned after its fabled (and long departed) San Diego Chicken ~ for the mascot’s triumphant 1-game return.
‘Any PR is Good PR’
Circus master P.T. Barnum is famous for saying, “There's no such thing as bad publicity.” Yet, he was around long before the internet and Google made bad publicity a lasting problem.
Today, most companies would agree that bad PR does exist. And regarding public relations, that industry has its own adage: never do anything that might hurt. In other words, if a proposed action has any potential drawback, it should not be pursued.
Nonetheless, over the years MLB clubs persevered with some special games showcased with free promotional products that didn’t work out so well. Many surface now and then in baseball fan discussions, to this day. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in terms of promotional items at baseball stadiums.
The Good: Promotional Products with Lasting Memories
For every bad baseball promotional-item giveaway, there’s probably twice as many (or more) promos gone good. Many team-branded items in fact become collectors’ items over the years. Some of our favorites:
San Diego Chicken
Given away at the turnstiles for a Sept. 26, 2003 game against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants, the game was heavily promoted in San Diego-region media outlets touting the return of the famous mascot for an appearance that game. A limited number of this colorful bobblehead was produced, and some still command over $100 ~ for an item that was free for the price of a ticket. “He was even on MORK and MINDY back in the ‘70s!!” one eBay seller wrote.
Toothpick-Holder Bobblehead
In 2011, the Cincinnati Reds gave fans a free Dusty Baker bobblehead that was carefully crafted to also hold toothpicks ~ in honor of the (then) popular team manager who has a penchant for chewing toothpicks on the field.
Thundersticks
This one is in the eye of the beholder. The Los Angeles Angels in 2002 introduced to the world Thundersticks, an elongated pair of hard-plastic balloons that created a terrible cumulative noise when many of them were smacked together in unison. They got a lot of PR during that year’s World Series, as fans created a deafening roar during key moments in games, and in the seasons that followed teams from baseball and even other sports began to sell them.
However, some people became quite annoyed with the noise and some stadiums and arenas banned them. If Thundersticks are not your jam, know that the Angels also introduced the stuffed-animal Rally Monkey to baseball stadiums.
Photo By BrokenSphere - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11218305
The Bad (1-timers or just plain weird)
White Ball Caps
The Kansas Royals in 1987 gave away free team caps to arriving fans ~ only, in a reverse color scheme so the hats were white while the logo was team royal blue. The effect was the creation of a sea of white in the stands, which meant trouble for players on the field trying to see the white baseball in flight. Live and learn: the Royals, along with all the other teams, steer clear of giving away items that might negatively impact game play. Said Royals manager at the time, Billy Gardner, “Maybe next time we give away hats we can make them blue."
Flying Discs
In June 1974, the Atlanta Braves decided to give away 10,000 Frisbees to help fill the stands for a doubleheader. Three different times the umpires threatened to forfeit the first game to the visiting Reds ~ because fans peppered the field with the flying-disc toys. It might have been the last time flying discs were given away at MLB games.
The Zim Bear
The fledgling Tampa Bay (then-Devil) Rays wanted to honor longtime baseball coach and team advisor Don Zimmer, so they chose to … make him into a small teddy bear to give away in June 2012. This item is peculiar because of Zimmer’s uniquely round face and deep jowls, prompting one past player to call him “the gerbil.”
But his round face on a cuddly bear sounded good to someone. The 10,000 Zim Bears were popular enough for the team to do another one later in the season.
The Ugly: When Promotional Items Cost Teams
Baseballs
Sadly enough, the most obvious thing to give away at a ball game ~ baseballs ~ are almost a thing of the past. Nowadays teams might give away squishy sponge models, but rarely do they give away regulation-type balls. Because they’re too easy to throw onto fields and not only disrupt play, but perhaps injure a ballplayer, coach or umpire.
And it took a few years for teams to figure that out, apparently:
- The San Francisco Giants distributed free baseballs in 1993, only to see the game delayed at one point because a home run triggered an avalanche of balls onto the field. Some Giants outfielders stayed out on the field to help get the balls off the grass.
- Just 2 years later, the Los Angeles Dodgers forfeited the first game in 41 years in their National League, due to the free baseballs thrown onto the field in late innings. The second avalanche occurred after Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda was ejected by an umpire. Sounds like a difficult night overall.
- Another two years passed before the Milwaukee Brewers chose to give fans free baseballs, which eventually ended up on the field. Luckily the home team players and umpires got things under control to avoid a forfeit.
Photo By DoD News - 141231-D-DB155-007, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54146405
Seat Cushions
Ditto for seat cushions. Teams were correct in thinking that fans might want some relief for their rear ends while sitting on hard seats for the hours a baseball game takes. Nonetheless, not all fans considered them valuable enough to avoid the temptation to make them projectiles.
Examples are evident:
- The Boston Red Sox gave away team-branded seat cushions for a game in fall 1982, but in the sixth inning when the team took a commanding lead, fans started flinging the cushions onto the field. Umpires warned of a forfeit if it continued; leading the park’s public announcer to broadcast throughout the New England stadium, “Try sitting on the cushions, it’s more comfortable that way.”
- Just 5 years later, the St. Louis Cardinals learned the same lesson, when Cards hitter Tom Herr hit a grand slam to beat the Mets, Busch Stadium’s fake turf was covered with the freebie seat cushions.
Disco Destruction
This one is not about a promotional item the team gave away, per se, but an item fans were told to bring for a promotional event. In July 1979, the Chicago White Sox staged “Disco Demolition Night,” where fans would get discounted tickets if they brought and donated a disco record to be destroyed on the field between games of a doubleheader.
After a crate holding who knows how many records of the then-declining music genre was exploded, mayhem ensued. The explosion and fans who rushed onto the field for a riot caused so much damage to the field that the home White Sox had to forfeit the second game to the visiting Detroit Tigers.
The White Sox weren’t very good that season, but about 50,000 people showed up to see a local radio DJ begin (or contribute to) the demise of disco as a cultural phenomenon. So many records arrived that not all could be collected by stadium staff, and fans used extras to hurl them around like, well, the flying discs mentioned above.
Promotional Products You Might Not See Again at MLB Games
- Baseballs
- Seat cushions
- White caps (or hats colored too lightly or too brightly)
- Flying toy discs (Frisbees)
- Mini wooden baseball bats
- Paper airplanes
Promotional Items You Probably Can Find at MLB Games in 2021
- Foam Fingers. You know, that gigantic hand with the single finger pointing straight up to indicate “We’re No. 1!”? They’re light enough to not travel far, and even if so could hardly hurt a player. These are probably here to stay.
- Rally Towels. Made famous by football’s Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, and adopted by teams in many sports, these giveaways are hard to throw, and anyway come in handy to sop up beer spills during games.
- Can Coolers. They’re soft, small, and inexpensive, and go rather well with a rally towel for beer management, wouldn’t you say?
- Drawstring Backpacks. Once again, hardly a threat to those on the field, yet a neat item for kids to show their team spirit at school.
- Baseball Caps. This giveaway at MLB games will last for eternity. Just not white ones.
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Takeaways for Promotional Products Pros
- Know Thy Venue. No promotional-items vendor (or client for that matter) wants their product tossed aside nonchalantly, or worse, thrown with purpose during a big event.
- Understand the Circumstances. See the white Royals caps above.
- Take-Home Value. Go with something the recipient could use consistently, providing an incentive to hold onto the item safely throughout the event.
- Annoyance Factor. If an item ultimately could annoy others nearby -- e.g. Thundersticks -- a company probably does not want their logo or brand permanently affixed to it.
Baseball Promo Item Ideas for Marketing Potential
A major reason baseball is a good sport to liken to business is, success in baseball truly requires a team effort. Very rarely does a single player carry a team to victory. It usually takes a coordinated effort by many players for a team to excel. The same could be true in business.
The most important asset for many businesses is its people. Ever tried events or promotions to pump your troops up, or show appreciation for the valuable work they do? Pro baseball teams don’t always do giveaways just to fill seats; sometimes it’s to generate team spirit or excitement in an entire city for a big game or series.
Why not try the same for your business? It can be an opportunity not only for branding, but to generate spirit and build loyalty to the brand that everyone, in the end, owns. Consider having one or more of the following to create a campaign and keep the momentum over time:
- Foam Fingers. Baseball clubs don’t have a monopoly on these dandy spirit-builders.
- Colored Rally Towels.
- Drawstring Backpack. As mentioned above, these items are cool because kids carry the logo image all around town.
- Sports-themed Pens. A classic go-to for company employee initiatives.
- Baseball Caps. Alternative to tee shirts, especially if the jobs are mostly outdoors.
Resources
https://www.mlb.com/news/weirdest-mlb-promotions-ever
https://muckrack.com/blog/2019/11/06/is-any-pr-good-p
Featured Image Photo by Shawn Reza on Pexels
