Monday, January 5, 2009

Wait, what does that say?

I took this pic a while back but stumbled upon it a few days ago. Notice anything?














No, not the empty seats (this is Minute Maid park, after all...) but check out the stadium signage.

Quick background: the sign is supposed to prompt you to go to a special web site and sign up for an MLB credit card. Here is what the site says:

"Fans can choose an MLBTM Extra BasesTM credit card bearing the MLBTM logo or the logo of their favorite team. Each time the card is used for a purchase, the cardholder earns one point for every dollar spent. Accumulated points can then be redeemed for an incredible spectrum of unique rewards that only MLBTM and its 30 teams can deliver, many of which are exclusive to this program. And every reward at every level embodies the excitement and thrill of even getting closer to America's national pastime."

Problem -- the web site is called Astros Extra Bases, and when written out as a web address, it becomes.....astrosextrabases.com.

The first word I saw when I looked at the billboard was SEX. Yes, SEX. Yikes. Not the most family friendly way to communicate the "excitement" or "thrill" of "America's national pastime." And I'm not the only one with a dirty mind -- in my scientific study of 5 people, EVERYONE saw the word sex first.

Anyway, on to the critique: I have no idea who in his right mind would have approved this signage. But the copy should have been written with some lower case letters, like this: AstrosExtraBases.com. This simple change would erased any message confusion...and kept innocent minds (like mine!) out of the gutter.

I suspect this is a generic sign in the ballparks of all the teams that B of A sponsors. The agency probably just replaces the team name. Astros Credit Card, Red Sox Credit Card...B of A doesn't care. But this simplistic name swapping technique didn't work out well for the Astros, or any team whose name ends in an "s" I suppose.

So the moral of the story: be safe, wear protection (baseball gear protection you pervs!) and always review your copy.

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