Never underestimate the ego of a major league ballplayer. It’s something that can’t be measured—or maybe it can. That possibility is demonstrated in this :30, which promotes the Baltimore Orioles as the 2002 baseball season is about to get underway.
We see Orioles’ outfielder/first baseman Jeff Conine asking outfielder Chris Richard for some help. Richard obliges, holding a large tape measure at home plate of the Orioles’ ballpark, Camden Yards. At the other end of the tape, Conine starts walking towards the outfield, unspooling all 300 feet of measuring tape.
Cut, to find Richard meeting Conine in the middle of the grassy outfield, exactly 300 feet from home plate. Richard remains there as Conine again unspools the tape, this time from the new starting point. Conine clambers deep into the bleachers, then shouts, "How far was it?" Richard quickly adds the initial 300 feet to the just-unspooled 130: "Four thirty!" he yells back.
Conine nods smugly: He’s confirmed his gut feeling that the homerun he’d hit earlier was more than the originally estimated 425 feet. "I get no respect from that scoreboard guy," mutters Conine.
The Orioles’ ’02 rallying cry is then supered across the screen: "Give us an O! "
"Tape Measure" is one of six spots comprising the ’02 Orioles’ campaign created by Baltimore agency Trahan, Burden & Charles. The core ad team consisted of chief creative officer Allan Charles, art director Steve Bleinberger and copywriter Barry Silverman.
Charles directed and shot the package of spots via the agency’s sister production company, Charles Street Films, Baltimore. Producers were Kenny Klompus and Amy Hammond. Klompus also edited the campaign via Charles Street Films.
Postproduction artist was David Hudson at Producers Video, Baltimore. Audio mixer was Andy Peterson of Clean Cuts, Baltimore. Sound design was done by Charles Street Films’ Andy Wardlaw. Sound Patrol, New York, provided stock music.
