« Richie Sambora arrives at his Manhattan hotel | Main | Richie Sambora Visits The Broadway Production Of "Grease" »

August 29, 2007

TBS Jams with Bon Jovi

MLB.jpg
TBS Jams with Bon Jovi to promote exclusive MLB postseason coverage New promo features Bon Jovi's "I Love This Town" single

TBS, home of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Division Series and the National League Championship Series (NLCS), unveiled today a new full-length promo featuring the GRAMMY® Award winning rock 'n roll group Bon Jovi. The rollicking new spot features the band performing "I Love This Town" from their new Lost Highway album interspersed with action footage of some of MLB's hottest postseason contenders, including the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Yankees and more. The two minute 30 second spot will run in its entirety exclusively in movie theatres and select MLB ballparks throughout the country. Shorter versions will appear on TBS with the song serving as the primary musical bed for bumps and teases throughout the network's 2007 MLB postseason coverage. TBS takes the mound on Oct. 3rd with exclusive coverage of the Division Series, followed by the NLCS.
The Bon Jovi promo will appear Aug. 31 - Oct. 11 on more than 6,400 movie screens nationwide during National CineMedia's digitally delivered pre-show exclusively in AMC, United Artists, Regal, Edwards, CineMark and Georgia Theatre Company movie theatres.

"The true heart of a baseball franchise lives outside the stadium walls, in the hearts and minds of the fans. These fans love their hometown as much as they love the baseball team that represents them and that is the essence of the piece," said Craig Barry, vice president and creative director for Turner Sports. "We wanted to find an up-tempo, grassroots piece of music that represented not only baseball and the teams, but the fans and cities as well. Bon Jovi has always been known to captivate and entertain diverse audiences around the world, so who better to deliver the message for TBS."

TBS' MLB campaign will also include on-air promos featuring the network's Hall of Fame announcers Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn. The 30-second spots will run in heavy rotation on the Turner family of networks, which includes TBS, TNT, CourTV, CNN, CNN Airport Network and Cartoon Channel, beginning in September. Ripken (studio analyst) and Gwynn (game analyst) are the cornerstone of TBS' marquee roster of baseball announcers which also includes two-time Emmy® award-winning studio host Ernie Johnson, MLB veteran Joe Simpson (game analyst) and veteran baseball announcer Chip Caray (play-by-play).

TBS also recently completed promos with comedian and longtime Red Sox fan Dane Cook in step with MLB's "There's Only One October" advertising campaign. The fresh Bon Jovi and Dane Cook ads are another triumph for Turner, which has received critical acclaim for its previous ads featuring such entertainment superstars as Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones, actor Jeremy Piven, music producer Pharrell and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

"Our new baseball marketing campaign is designed to drive awareness about our exclusive MLB postseason programming in a fresh and exciting way," said Jenny Storms, SVP of marketing and programming for Turner Sports. "From the energizing Bon Jovi piece in theatres, to the on-air spots featuring baseball legends, to the billboards featuring hometown favorite players, we've created a captivating and energetic campaign to get fans riled up to watch the postseason on TBS."

The Bon Jovi, Ripken and Gwynn and Dane Cook promos are a part of TBS' multi-platform marketing campaign to promote its first year of MLB postseason coverage. Additional campaign outreaches include an extensive outdoor campaign in major markets such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, which will include two towering billboards in Times Square featuring larger-than-life images of Derek Jeter (NY Yankees), David Wright (NY Mets), David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox) and John Smoltz (Atlanta Braves).

Additional marketing activities include national radio buys, online advertising and print advertisements in national publications such as USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Sporting News. TBS will also implement a unique Hispanic outreach campaign with specialized outdoor, radio and print advertising in select markets, including Los Angeles and New York.

In Sept. TBS will launch TBS Hot Corner on MLB.com, a new broadband channel that will offer unique streaming from postseason match-ups and reports and updates from TBS on-air announcers.

Turner Sports, Inc., a Time Warner company, presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised sports programming. With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports' line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATour.com and PGA.com.

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television's "very funny" network. It serves as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy, King of Queens, Seinfeld and Friends; original comedy series like My Boys, The Bill Engvall Show, 10 Items or Less and Frank TV (working title); first-run series like Tyler Perry's House of Payne; specials and special events, such as Funniest Commercials of the Year and The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas; blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a TimeWarner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming to the basic cable industry.

Posted by riesambo at August 29, 2007 11:15 PM