Upper Deck Ad Campaign to Feature Derek Jeter
Upper Deck Ad Campaign to Feature Derek Jeter & New Online Site for Kids to Predict Which Players Will Help Them Win the Scoreboard Challenge Each Week
CARLSBAD, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- At the breakfast table as a kid, you'd steal your dad's morning paper before he got there, quickly going to one place: the baseball box scores. Pouring the milk over your corn flakes -- in turn -- you poured over every stat. Who had the most homeruns that day, the most steals, the most strikeouts?
That spirit for statistics has carried over to adulthood for many fans, as fantasy leagues have become increasingly popular among the 30-and-over set. But where does that leave kids today? With a majority of their time spent trading MP3s, playing video games on their PCs, do they even care about RBIs and ERAs?
Trading card leader Upper Deck thinks so, and starting next week the company is launching an ad campaign to introduce an online prediction league for kids in support of its 2007 UD MLB Series One baseball product. "The online site will allow kids to predict which player will hit the most home runs, steal the most bases or knock in the most RBIs," adds Louise Curcio, Vice President of Marketing for Upper Deck. The 15- and 30-second spots for the Baseball Scoreboard Challenge -- featuring New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter -- will air on Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network beginning April 2, running through the end of May.
Print ads will follow in Sports Illustrated for Kids and in game programs in all 30 Major League Baseball markets.
"We have been extremely successful with reaching a new generation of collectors," emphasizes Upper Deck's Curcio. "With all of the other activities jostling for kids' attention, we had to revisit how we attract youngsters. Upperdeckkids.com allows us to change our approach to social collecting -- we have added a technology component to our cards -- the alpha-numeric codes, since most of today's kids are online or playing computer games with their friends." Upperdeckkids.com enables kids to collect and trade player codes, chat in a safe environment about sports and how to start a collection. In addition, each player card -- with the alpha-numeric code -- now has a value associated with it making it highly sought-after.
This is only the second broadcast push for Upper Deck in the last decade, following last year's successful spots. Those commercials unveiled a kids online initiative -- http://www.upperdeckkids.com/ -- which, has registered nearly 22 million cards, winning prizes and connecting with others in this unique, interactive community.
According to Upper Deck, kids continue to be their main consumer focus, a departure from the last decade when the company -- and the entire industry -- was intent on catering to the 35-plus crowd. Now looking to grow a new generation of collectors, Upper Deck said its ad-dollar allocation to capture the kid market in 2006 was more than it had spent in the previous 10 years combined.
And the results have been immediate. Besides the number of kids, cards registered on their rewards site, Upper Deck has seen overall growth in this age category. In February, Kids Trend Tracker reported 42 percent of boys aged 8-11, and 33 percent of boys 12-15, are now collecting sports cards, up from single digits just a year ago.
Creative Behind New Upper Deck Jeter/Scoreboard Challenge TV Spots
As with last year's ads, the commercials feature real kids in real-life collecting situations. However, Jeter has been added to the creative mix in 2007 for three of its four spots.
In one titled "Steals," the all-star shortstop is off-screen, the final piece to the protagonist's collection, another young collector adding a Jeter card as an afterthought in a trade -- thinking the protagonist is trying to rack up weekly fantasy league points for steals. The protagonist's response, to the camera: "Bonehead. Next week he'll [Jeter] be hitting."
Two other commercials feature the real-life Jeter, asking the audience which major league star will be the tops in two categories, hits and strikeouts. He also speaks to Upper Deck's philosophy: the need to trade cards with friends to build your collection, not merely get lucky in pulling a rookie or insert. At the end, he gives the company's new tagline, "Get more than lucky."
Upper Deck's latest broadcast ads were created by Posnick+ Advertising, New York, the agency behind the company's entertainment products, including Yu-Gi-Oh! and Vs. System (Marvel).
About the Upper Deck Company
Founded in 1988, The Upper Deck Co. is a premier global sports and entertainment-publishing company that delivers a portfolio of relevant, innovative and multi-dimensional product experiences to collectors, sports and entertainment enthusiasts.
Website: http://www.upperdeckkids.com/
Copyright © 1996-2003 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
CARLSBAD, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- At the breakfast table as a kid, you'd steal your dad's morning paper before he got there, quickly going to one place: the baseball box scores. Pouring the milk over your corn flakes -- in turn -- you poured over every stat. Who had the most homeruns that day, the most steals, the most strikeouts?
That spirit for statistics has carried over to adulthood for many fans, as fantasy leagues have become increasingly popular among the 30-and-over set. But where does that leave kids today? With a majority of their time spent trading MP3s, playing video games on their PCs, do they even care about RBIs and ERAs?
Trading card leader Upper Deck thinks so, and starting next week the company is launching an ad campaign to introduce an online prediction league for kids in support of its 2007 UD MLB Series One baseball product. "The online site will allow kids to predict which player will hit the most home runs, steal the most bases or knock in the most RBIs," adds Louise Curcio, Vice President of Marketing for Upper Deck. The 15- and 30-second spots for the Baseball Scoreboard Challenge -- featuring New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter -- will air on Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network beginning April 2, running through the end of May.
Print ads will follow in Sports Illustrated for Kids and in game programs in all 30 Major League Baseball markets.
"We have been extremely successful with reaching a new generation of collectors," emphasizes Upper Deck's Curcio. "With all of the other activities jostling for kids' attention, we had to revisit how we attract youngsters. Upperdeckkids.com allows us to change our approach to social collecting -- we have added a technology component to our cards -- the alpha-numeric codes, since most of today's kids are online or playing computer games with their friends." Upperdeckkids.com enables kids to collect and trade player codes, chat in a safe environment about sports and how to start a collection. In addition, each player card -- with the alpha-numeric code -- now has a value associated with it making it highly sought-after.
This is only the second broadcast push for Upper Deck in the last decade, following last year's successful spots. Those commercials unveiled a kids online initiative -- http://www.upperdeckkids.com/ -- which, has registered nearly 22 million cards, winning prizes and connecting with others in this unique, interactive community.
According to Upper Deck, kids continue to be their main consumer focus, a departure from the last decade when the company -- and the entire industry -- was intent on catering to the 35-plus crowd. Now looking to grow a new generation of collectors, Upper Deck said its ad-dollar allocation to capture the kid market in 2006 was more than it had spent in the previous 10 years combined.
And the results have been immediate. Besides the number of kids, cards registered on their rewards site, Upper Deck has seen overall growth in this age category. In February, Kids Trend Tracker reported 42 percent of boys aged 8-11, and 33 percent of boys 12-15, are now collecting sports cards, up from single digits just a year ago.
Creative Behind New Upper Deck Jeter/Scoreboard Challenge TV Spots
As with last year's ads, the commercials feature real kids in real-life collecting situations. However, Jeter has been added to the creative mix in 2007 for three of its four spots.
In one titled "Steals," the all-star shortstop is off-screen, the final piece to the protagonist's collection, another young collector adding a Jeter card as an afterthought in a trade -- thinking the protagonist is trying to rack up weekly fantasy league points for steals. The protagonist's response, to the camera: "Bonehead. Next week he'll [Jeter] be hitting."
Two other commercials feature the real-life Jeter, asking the audience which major league star will be the tops in two categories, hits and strikeouts. He also speaks to Upper Deck's philosophy: the need to trade cards with friends to build your collection, not merely get lucky in pulling a rookie or insert. At the end, he gives the company's new tagline, "Get more than lucky."
Upper Deck's latest broadcast ads were created by Posnick+ Advertising, New York, the agency behind the company's entertainment products, including Yu-Gi-Oh! and Vs. System (Marvel).
About the Upper Deck Company
Founded in 1988, The Upper Deck Co. is a premier global sports and entertainment-publishing company that delivers a portfolio of relevant, innovative and multi-dimensional product experiences to collectors, sports and entertainment enthusiasts.
Website: http://www.upperdeckkids.com/
Copyright © 1996-2003 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
posted by Walking Contradiction at 12:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home