Report: Mass Mutual has signed a 10-year/$17M a year jersey patch sponsorship
- Thread starter soxhop411
- Start date
I love reading UniWatch, but one of the opinions that I don't share is that uniform ads are always bad. The ones on the Celts' and Bruins' unis are small (Bruins) or blend into the jersey (Celts) that I don't notice them and don't really think about them--which I understand is the exact opposite of what these ads are supposed to do.
But these MassMutual ads are ugly and stick out like a sore thumb on the Red Sox uniforms. And having them on the Patriot's Day uniforms seems gross to me.
I know that I'll get used to them and maybe they'll eventually blend into the jersey, but right now; not a fan. There are ways of doing these things right and the Red Sox and MM did not do it. It literally looks like they stuck a sticker on a Sox jersey and called it a day.
But these MassMutual ads are ugly and stick out like a sore thumb on the Red Sox uniforms. And having them on the Patriot's Day uniforms seems gross to me.
I know that I'll get used to them and maybe they'll eventually blend into the jersey, but right now; not a fan. There are ways of doing these things right and the Red Sox and MM did not do it. It literally looks like they stuck a sticker on a Sox jersey and called it a day.
This was my first thought as well. It looks like the company died and the club is honoring its legacy.
I don't think that jerseys will all have the MassMutual ads on them. I know that you can buy Celts and Bruins jerseys without the VistaPrint and Rapid7 patches.
I wouldn't say it looks good, but I honestly expected worse. But why not embroider the logotype in carmine thread on the sleeve? That would look much better than this blue (black?) patch.
The white on blue would look fine on the blue away alternate jerseys, though.
The white on blue would look fine on the blue away alternate jerseys, though.
Not sure if anyone saw this piece of information, but Paul Lukas just tweeted that left handed batters will have the ad patches on their right sleeve and right handed batters will have the ad patches on their left sleeve. This is to maximize the number of times viewers see the ads.
I have no idea what this means for:
- Switch hitters
- Pitchers
- The hanging Sox patch on the road uniforms
I will say this, when MLB sells out, they sell out really hard. The greed is absolutely disgusting. The owners are pigs.
I have no idea what this means for:
- Switch hitters
- Pitchers
- The hanging Sox patch on the road uniforms
I will say this, when MLB sells out, they sell out really hard. The greed is absolutely disgusting. The owners are pigs.
LOL, of course. What about switch hitters?
View: https://twitter.com/UniWatch/status/1598048634402181138
Today's Red Sox uni ad announcement showed the advertiser patch on the right sleeve of the home jersey and the left sleeve of the road jersey. Why? Because MLB ad patch positions will be based on whether the player bats left- or right-handed, to maximize TV exposure.
View: https://twitter.com/UniWatch/status/1598048634402181138
Today's Red Sox uni ad announcement showed the advertiser patch on the right sleeve of the home jersey and the left sleeve of the road jersey. Why? Because MLB ad patch positions will be based on whether the player bats left- or right-handed, to maximize TV exposure.
I was hoping for something Celtics-esque. This sucks. And I love soccer jerseys with sponsors, they look wrong without them. But this is gross. Honestly, kill the solid box. Put the MassMutual logo in red (home) or navy (away) against the jersey color. Same size. It would have been fine.
Ads have always been a part of Fenway
1940’s . Fenway below
View: https://twitter.com/nut_history/status/1596625671299952640
1940’s . Fenway below
View: https://twitter.com/nut_history/status/1596625671299952640
The ugliness plus the stupidity of that comment could actually make this a net negative for Masmutin.
If it brought beer and food prices down, I wouldn't care, but it won't.
Everything is about money, but I still buy my tickets.
The comment by the head of MassMutual is so stupid. He should lose his job.
Everything is about money, but I still buy my tickets.
The comment by the head of MassMutual is so stupid. He should lose his job.
These patches are geared exclusively toward TV viewers; even fans in the field boxes won’t be able to read “Mass Mutual” on the sleeve. Will the average TV viewer be able to read it? As obtrusive as the black patch is, the type is not all that large, and they sacrificed a fair amount of real estate to fit that quasi-logo with the dots. I usually don’t wear my glasses to watch TV, so I suspect it’s just going to look like a black armband to me.
MM didn’t agree to pay $17M a year for a uniform patch we wouldn’t notice, so the conspicuousness is roughly what I expected. I thought we’d get something a little more artistic, like maybe a new corporate logo that MM designed in connection with this promotion (their existing logo is hardly iconic). But that would look more commercial, not less, so it doesn’t bother me that they settled for this ugly black box instead.
MM didn’t agree to pay $17M a year for a uniform patch we wouldn’t notice, so the conspicuousness is roughly what I expected. I thought we’d get something a little more artistic, like maybe a new corporate logo that MM designed in connection with this promotion (their existing logo is hardly iconic). But that would look more commercial, not less, so it doesn’t bother me that they settled for this ugly black box instead.
$: 1, design: 0.
It should be possible for them to come to a draw, but we hate those in this country.
It should be possible for them to come to a draw, but we hate those in this country.
Is that patch definitely black, or is it blue? That lighting is horrible. It looks like they took the picture in a Spencers. If its blue, its less awful (but still awful).
Edit: I'm assuming switch hitters will get it on the left sleeve
Edit: I'm assuming switch hitters will get it on the left sleeve
I guess we're on the same island: I was thinking 17m/yr might actually get MM a little more pop.
Holy @#$ this was mind numbingly stupid. The insular arrogance of the executive is astonishing: I bet the PR team is still looking up at the sky asking "whyyyyyyyyyyy did we spend this $ to court the Sox and this idiot weighs in?"
I'd assume the opposite. A switch hitter is going to have his right shoulder facing the field like 70% of the time. I hope they put them on both just for the nerve of it though.
As I've heard it explained they’ll have two jerseys but will wear the one that fits with their first ab of the game. So if a lefty is pitching and you’re batting righty you’d wear it on your left side. If they bring a rightie in and you switch sides you keep the same jersey. I don't know what happens if there's a pitching change before your first AB though.
JFC, this is so stupid. In my first post, I said that I was past all of this raging against the commercialism of sports; but this is another example of the tail wagging the dog here. MLB just loves to fuck with its product for the sake of a buck.
Of course. I was thinking backwards.
I was going to joke that MLB will have a nerd combing through splits and total ABs from each side from the last 3 year and determine it on a case by case basis. However that's probably not much more of a stretch than the jersey switch idea based on starter handedness that shlincoln mentioned above, if true.
Maybe they should put it on the earflaps. Problem solved.
I share the distaste others have mentioned for this patch, but it's a minor annoyance compared to the atrocious City Connect jersey.
We all know where this is going. In five years, maybe less, they will be Nascar'd. All sports are trending this way. I dislike it intensely. I'd be even more frosted if my team was like the Royals. I don't know how you sell this to markets where the ownership clearly doesn't give a darn about putting a major league level product on the field. It's just gross, but completely expected.
Maybe just have a Drone that hovers behind the batter with a sign dangling underneath it.
Clearly, the black armband like patches are brilliant marketing…
The average fan is going to see them, wonder who died, and then squint to read it’s an add for Mass Mutual.
But the initial “oh no, someone died” will linger. And the fan will begin to worry about their own mortality. The other night, when they woke up with numbness in their arm… an awkward sleeping position? Or perhaps a mild stroke?
Thinking of his wife and children, then fan will realize, “I really should think about getting a life insurance policy, just in case… but where, oh where, can I go to get insured? Of course! Mass Mutual! If they’re good enough for the Red Sox, then they are good enough for my family! Just life when my wife had that affair! We all got fucked by Pablo Sandoval, albeit in different ways…”
And with that, the fan, let’s call him Mr. Mike Miller, visits Mass Mutual dot com. And he calls to his son, “Hey, Pablo Junior! Be a good kid and get your old man a beer.”
The average fan is going to see them, wonder who died, and then squint to read it’s an add for Mass Mutual.
But the initial “oh no, someone died” will linger. And the fan will begin to worry about their own mortality. The other night, when they woke up with numbness in their arm… an awkward sleeping position? Or perhaps a mild stroke?
Thinking of his wife and children, then fan will realize, “I really should think about getting a life insurance policy, just in case… but where, oh where, can I go to get insured? Of course! Mass Mutual! If they’re good enough for the Red Sox, then they are good enough for my family! Just life when my wife had that affair! We all got fucked by Pablo Sandoval, albeit in different ways…”
And with that, the fan, let’s call him Mr. Mike Miller, visits Mass Mutual dot com. And he calls to his son, “Hey, Pablo Junior! Be a good kid and get your old man a beer.”
Then trade the Jimmy Fund sign on the wall (or wherever) for the uniform patch. MassMutual on the wall is far less offensive than on the uniform sleeve.
Really? I don't even notice Jersey patches. I definitely notice the big RSF sign n the Green Monster
I don't honestly know. The patch deal is worth $17 million per year. I don't know what $17 million buys in terms of wall space.
I'm just sayin'... A Jimmy Fund patch would be classier. So would a simple "John Hancock." "Dunkin'" at least, would be funny.
Wow, that feels super disproportionate to the impact these things will have on, well, anything.
This is the easiest, lowest-impact way to raise revenue. Doesn't cost the fans anything, doesn't hurt or change the game. Do I like the design? Not really, but it's money that my team now has to compete with, and it didn't come out of my pocket.
On the spectrum of things to complain about with baseball, I'm very surprised this would be anywhere close to the top of someone's list, and thus meriting "absolutely disgusting, the owners are pigs" treatment.
IDK what to tell you. For quite a long time, but accelerating during the Manfred administration, MLB and its owners have done everything in their power to extract every penny that they can from the game. In rare occasions (like expanded playoffs) it's helped the game, but in a majority of cases, it's actively hurt the game (contracting the minor leagues, getting rid of the last ten [or so] rounds of the draft, limiting the amount of call-ups in September). It seems that whenever they make a decision on "improving the game" they look at the bottom line first and ignore the ripple effect that comes with a move.
Nike wanted to put their swoosh on the sleeves of the uniform like they do for the NFL, MLB said that for an extra couple of million they'll put it on the chest.
FTX wants to advertise on umpire uniforms? Go for it. Who cares if it's basically a Ponzi scheme that's going to crater less than a year after they enter into this agreement.
Letting advertisers dictate where they can put their ads is just another example of the tail wagging the dog.
I'm glad that it doesn't bother you, quite truthfully, I'll get used to this (just like I said in my first post) but what caused my reaction is just how blatant and unabashed they are about shoving it in our faces. Next time you watch a game, check out how many different ads there are behind home plate, on the mound, on the umpire's uniform, on the score bug and now two more on the uniforms. It's an assault. How much is too much?
EDIT: The bottom line is I don't think that the owners have ever really had the best interests of the fans in mind when they make changes. But it wasn't quite so as in-your-face as it has been in the last decade or so. I think that this has been true of a lot of things in our society during that time frame, so this shouldn't surprise me. And it doesn't, but when you see a greedy pig; I think it's okay to call them out. YMMV.
Last edited: