Recently we linked to Evan Longoria’s new action commercial for New Era that is now airing nationally during baseball games. Everybody loves the commercial. Everybody that is, except for some people in St. Pete. Maybe.
Justin George was so worried about it he wrote 700 words on the subject for the St. Pete Times…
He sprints through a courtyard. In Tampa…He jumps on a streetcar. In Tampa…He hops on a water scooter. In Tampa.
Yes, they are the Tampa Bay Rays, a team with a name that bridges communities. But the Pinellas side bristles when broadcasters mistake Tampa for the home of Tropicana Field…So does St. Petersburg — on guard against suggestions of relocating the team — feel a little jilted by the backdrop in Longoria’s commercial for New Era baseball caps?
To get to the bottom of this, George asked one (1!) person, a spokesperson for the St. Pete/Clearwater Visitor’s Bureau.
“I thought it was great,” spokesman David Downing said.
That settles it, right?
Nope.
Nope?
Nope.
You see, the Tampa Visitor’s Bureau Tweeted about it! So George asked somebody about the back-stabbing, surprise Tweet-attack from the east side of the bay…
“It’s great exposure for downtown,” Tampa Downtown Partnership spokesman Paul Ayres said. “Shows many of downtown’s best assets.”
DAMN YOU TWITTER! Always trying to stir the pot with your 140-character limit and endless power to move baseball teams.
And why was the commercial filmed in Tampa?
He owns a condominium in the Towers of Channelside, and the spot begins with Longoria lounging across the street in Channelside Bay Plaza’s courtyard…Filming locations are often driven by the “talent,” Tampa Bay Film Commission manager Lindsey Guthrie said, and that was the case for Longoria, who wanted to stick close to home.
Wait…Dirtbag lives in Tampa!?! Ahhhhh$@#$%#$R345#$%$%!!11! Amok, Amok, Amok.
The GBT – The Good, The Bad and The Telling sandwich, where The Bad is nice and lean and the The Telling is ripe.
