Reese Kaplan -- Superbowl Marketing a First for the NY Mets

With the Superbowl about to be played tomorrow it is nearly time for the baseball season to begin. With none of the hometown teams nor the high profile teams from everyone's recent past like the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers participating, for many of us watching the big game is more of a ritual of junk food, too much drinking, many friends and a shared good time. The outcome of the game is almost less important than the several hours of forgetting about our regular lives and daily problems.

It interesting that as much as we treasure our game of baseball and what it means in our lives, the fact is that unless the Mets are in the World Series and it's the likely last game of the event there is nothing that really compares to the festivities, gathering and over-the-top advertising that accompanies the Superbowl.

Nowadays every one is full of Steve Cohen celebratory juices watching the man at least attempt to transform the Mets for perennial also-rans into legitimate contenders. This feeling of being proactive, being spenders and being on top of the world (without yet having won anything) can be addictive.

Right now with the big Superbowl about to start, one of the rituals is watching the super expensive commercials that become fodder for discussion for and video clip sharing between friends and families. While they are a source of entertainment and laughter (though sometimes tears, too) they are often forgotten from year to year.

This year word has filtered out that Steve Cohen has purchased TV time to run a NY Mets commercial among the ones for new cars, soda, junk food and other seeming necessities of life. Today the clip became public and folks can see exactly what the team is sharing with the entire world. Surprisingly it is pretty good and not embarrassing in the least:

When you watch it, after the Mets logo on the desk phon you see the huge smile on Brandon Nimmo's face as he races into the ticket center to take a call for tickets to see the Mets.

Then you see an equally smiling Francisco Lindor on the phone to help callers get authorized tickets to see upcoming Mets games.

Then there's a clip of newly signed starting pitcher Kodai Senga working in Japanese to explain his Ghost Fork not actually invoking real ghosts. That translation is furthered by returning catcher Tomas Nido in catching gear explaining it over the phone.

Finally after ending the ticket call center look and feel you see and hear the game's best fireman Edwin Diaz finalizing a call for tickets successfully and calling himself what he is -- the closer.

The advertising agency did a great job conveying the excitement of the upcoming season, showcasing many of the names and faces associated with the off season, and even without the trumpets playing you closed out the 30 seconds in great taste.

When the news about the Mets buying this Superbowl spot, it seemed a bit excessive and totally out of character for what people have experienced as Mets fans, but Steve Cohen does things differently. This approach seems to be a big step in the right direction.

As pleased as I am with the quality of the team's national exposure during the big game, tomorrow morning people will still be talking about the commercial from PepsiCo's PopCorners snack product reviving the look and feel of one of the best TV shows of all time: