It was an unlikely makeup chair, the bench in the home dugout at U.S. Cellular Field. But that is where White Sox center fielder Aaron Rowand found himself Thursday, his skin being topped with foundation in the capable hands of makeup artist Suzanne Ciba.
Although he’d never acted before, Rowand expected to finish his turn in front of the camera–running into the outfield wall–quickly.
“I have plenty of practice running into a wall, so it’ll probably only take one take,” Rowand said.
Rowand was one of a handful of Sox–including Mark Buehrle, Shingo Takatsu, Paul Konerko and Scott Podsednik–who spent their off day at the ballpark filming new television spots for the team’s promotional campaign, “Win or Die Trying.”
The ads are a departure for the Sox, who in recent years have relied mostly on game footage for their TV ads.
Why did they decide this year to highlight individual players in filmed spots?
“We felt like the players are our product, and we felt pretty confident that we have some guys people really can connect with,” team spokesman Scott Reifert said. “Television spots are a great way to bring that personality out.”
The tone of the four spots will be tongue in cheek, Reifert said. David Stevenson, owner and creative director of Two x Four, said the ads grew out of conversations he had in November with Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.
“The more people we introduce to these players, the more people are going to come to the ballpark,” Stevenson said. “We have some really great, dynamic personalities. Buehrle, he’s a great guy, he’s a great pitcher and, in my opinion, better than other pitchers in this town. . . . Not a lot of people know about this.”
The spots will start airing May 15. For the first time the Sox will advertise on sides of CTA buses and at “L” stops.