Whetting a baseball fan’s appetite for the upcoming season are the sights and sounds of spring training. This :30 for the Oakland A’s starts out like a slice of training-camp life: infield practice. A coach hits ground balls to his infielders, the first baseman and the shortstop. Each fields the ball flawlessly.
Then a grounder is hit to the third baseman, who seems to have the dreaded hands of steel. The first ground ball hits off his glove, making a tinny clanging noise. OK, everyone’s entitled to make an occasional mistake. But it seems this first miscue was no fluke. Groundball after groundball "clangs" off the glove of Oakland A’s third baseman Eric Chavez, considered by many to be a budding star.
His fellow infielders stare incredulously at Chavez’s lack of fielding prowess. Even when going after a grounder that’s already deflected off his glove into foul territory, he cannot pick up the slowed-down ball. It again clangs upon hitting the webbing of his mitt.
But finally we see the shiny, glistening problem. It’s not his mechanics or his attitude. It’s his glove! Chavez is wearing the golden trophy that signifies fielding excellence. He won the American League third baseman’s Gold Glove for the first time last season. Now, however soft his hands, the hard-yet-precious metal betrays his fielding; such is the price of slight egomania.
The spot, titled "Clang," breaks from the field to show us some supered copy against a pale gold background: "There’s no ‘A’ in modest." We then see that season ticket packages start at as little as $120, and an accompanying phone number, A’s logo and Web site address appear on screen.
Returning to the infield we see and hear yet another groundball clang off Chavez’s glove. Maybe when the regular season starts, he will go back to using leather. A mildly frustrated teammate notes, tongue-in-cheek, "That was funny the first time. Not any more."
"Clang" is one of seven spots in a campaign directed by Peter Darley Miller of Stiefel+Company, Santa Monica, for FCB San Francisco. The other commercials also demonstrate an offbeat sense of humor. For example, A’s ace pitcher Barry Zito runs into the locker room just before coming out to face the heart of the opposing team’s lineup in the eighth inning. Eyes focused straight ahead, he queries what appears to be empty space, seeking advice on how to pitch to these heavy hitters. A bewildered clubhouse attendant witnesses Zito intently muttering, then acknowledging responses that are audible only to him. After the pitcher exits, the attendant peers over to see to whom or what the ballplayer might have been talking. It turns out to be three bobble-head Oakland A’s dolls on the top shelf of Zito’s locker.
The FCB creative ensemble consisted of art directors Kevin Gammon and Pieter Van Praag, copywriters John Park and Paul Carek, and producer Rob Thomas.
Director Miller’s support team at Stiefel+Company included president/executive producer Frank Stiefel, exec producer Marie Perry and line producer Drew Bracken. The spots were shot by DP Mott Hupfel.
"Clang" was cut by Tim Fender of Bob ‘n Sheila’s Edit World, San Francisco. Bob ‘n Sheila’s Jimi Simmons served as Flame artist/online editor on the campaign, with Gina LoCurcio executive producing for the company. Colorist was Mike Pethel of Company 3, Santa Monica. Audio mixer was Jay Shilliday at Crescendo! Studios, San Francisco.
