It’s Dice-K day in Boston as everyone is gearing up to watch Matsuzaka’s first start. Part of us wants to see him do well, but part of us always wants to witness the meltdown on Boston sports radio if he throws a clunker. Pressure? Just a little. And that’s the theme of this Nike commercial that’s only being aired in Japan.
It’s pure genius by the way. Nike and MLB are creating a huge legion of fans in Japan who will love the Sox and, almost as importantly, hate the Yankees. The ad takes a bit of artistic license. The opponent today won’t be the Yankees, but the lowly Royals. You see MLB working?
We know that Dice-K mania is about to get underway real soon with pitchers and catchers reporting but this is a little ridiculous. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in Washington, D.C is looking into whether a Matsuzaka commercial for a Japanese beer aired in Japan might merit some punitive action.
Our jurisdiction runs to false and misleading ads,” said Resnick, who pointed to a 1995 ruling that says the bureau would consider unacceptable any ad “which depicts any individual (famous athlete or otherwise) consuming or about to consume an alcoholic beverage prior to or during an athletic activity or event,” or an ad that states that drinking alcohol “will enhance athletic prowess, performance at athletic activities or events, health or conditioning.
Did we mention that this ad only aired in Japan? MLB International said they sanctioned the spots and the use of the Red Sox trademark but are a little concerned. Maybe what they should be concerned about isn’t whether Dice-K is drinking a beer on camera (very impressively we might add) but whether drinking Asahi Super Dry is making him fat.
Here’s the commercial. As Tim Hardaway would say, there are more important things to worry about than Japanese beer commercials. We should be more concerned about President (George) Bush and all the people dying in Iraq.
Links:
[AdFreak]: U.S. looking at D-Mat’s beer commercials
[Reason.com]: Feds Continue to Assert World Jurisdiction
[Boston Herald]: Trouble brewing for Dice: Pitchman’s beer ad catches flak
