Is Alex Rodriguez Really the Face of Baseball? DirecTV Ad Says so

If you’re a baseball fan or DirecTV subscriber, chances are you’ve probably seen the Extra Innings advertisement featuring Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. In the commercial, A-Rod clubs a home run to deep left center at Yankee Stadium and begins his trot around the bases. His stroll begins on the streets of New York City, makes its way through the heartlands of America, and ends in your living room where you’re supposed to be magically moved to purchase the Extra Innings subscription. Here’s the commercial in case you haven’t seen it:

Maybe because I’m both a DirecTV subscriber and usually watching sports channels I’ve seen this commercial far too many times. Every time I see the ad, it makes me wonder what MLB/Extra Innings/DirecTV was thinking when they made it.

Whoever is behind the commercial decided that the player they wanted to use to convince baseball fans to drop nearly $200 to have all games available to them on TV was Alex Rodriguez. Of all players around, we’re talking Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum, you name it — they chose A-Rod. I don’t understand it for several reasons.

First off, when I see A-Rod I still can’t get steroid cheat out of my head. Not only that, but you hear about him complaining that the Super Bowl showed him getting fed popcorn on national TV. It’s that type of behavior that makes most people hate the purple lipstick wearing purse carrier. A-Rod is just a polarizing figure and not the one I’d want leading my advertising campaign.

Furthermore, the ad is supposed to convince people to purchase the Extra Innings package which gives access to all MLB games on a daily basis. My guess is most Yankees fans are so hard core they’re already subscribing to the package if they live out of town. I would think their target audience is fans who really enjoy baseball that can’t decide if they should spring for the nearly $200 package. Housewives and casual fans who might know A-Rod because he’s dating Cameron Diaz aren’t going to be purchasing the satellite TV baseball package. That’s just unrealistic. Baseball fans will be, and to most of them, I would figure A-Rod is a turnoff.

If I’m trying to market the Extra Innings package to baseball fans unsure if they should purchase it, I’m trying to sell them reasons why they need it. I would show magical moments from the past season — no-hitters, big home runs, diving catches, and ask fans if they want to be able to watch it every day. I’d also show stars from a variety of markets, guys like Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, and Troy Tulowitzki, and ask fans if they’d like access to their games on a daily basis. I’m no marketing expert, but I just can’t believe they chose Alex Rodriguez to be the face of baseball when it came to this ad. If anything, using A-Rod to advertise a product makes me want to buy it less.