New Era Enlists Craig Robinson and Nick Offerman to Represent Baseball's Windy City Rivalry

BUFFALO, N.Y., April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New Era today unveiled its 2012 Major League Baseball (MLB) marketing campaign celebrating rivalries and team pride. The campaign features The Office's Craig Robinson and Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman in a series of commercials demonstrating the true meaning of team rivalry.

Building off the success of its 2011 Yankees/Red Sox campaign, New Era will once again celebrate one of the most talked about aspects of Baseball – the rivalry. The TV spots, which begin airing today, will shine a light on the Windy City rivalry between the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs, two clubs with 260 years of baseball history between them. 

In the spots, which were written and produced by Gifted Youth, a new commercial production company formed by Funny Or Die, Robinson, who grew up on the south side of Chicago as a serious White Sox fan, and Offerman, a passionate Cubs fans from Minooka, IL, exchange some friendly back and forth trash-talking about each other's teams.

"Rivalries are the most direct and obvious forms of self-expression in sports and this year's campaign echoes that fanatical sentiment. This baseball season we continue to show how fans express their passion for their favorite team and city," said Christopher H. Koch, CEO.

The three spots will run throughout the season on a range of national cable channels including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, Comedy Central, G4, FX, Spike, Speed, Nick At Nite, Adult Swim, NBC Sports, MLB Network, and SNY and in-stadium during White Sox/Cubs matchups.

Additionally, the campaign will "take over" premium sport websites such as MLB.com, ESPN.com, SI.com, Yahoo! Sports, Yardbarker.com and Deadspin.com throughout the season.

The Rivalry campaign supports the brand's MLB Authentic Collection (MLB AC) caps – the same as those worn on the field – and consists of TV, social media, in-stadium and retail elements.

Visit http://youtu.be/mtxo4BnYzro to see the commercial!

About New Era
New Era is an international lifestyle brand with an authentic sports heritage that dates back over 90 years. Best known for being the official on-field cap for Major League Baseball, New Era is the brand of choice not only for its headwear collection, but also for its accessories and apparel lines for men, women and youth. The brand is worn as a symbol of self-expression by athletes, artists and some of the most interesting people around the globe. New Era encourages people to "FLY YOUR OWN FLAG™" - to truly express their personal style and individuality through its products. The Company is headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y. and operates facilities in Canada, Europe, Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong. For more information, visit www.neweracap.com. 

SOURCE New Era