Los Angeles is a town addicted to outdoor advertising (even despite the city's much-appreciated crackdown on illegal building wraps). And each year, I have to chuckle at how Arte Moreno's deep experience in outdoor advertising seems to give him a leg up in invading Los Angeles early, usually leaving the Dodgers' outdoor campaigns behind.
This year, the Angels billboards are up, with Albert Pujols as their obvious centerpiece. But according to LA Observed, their new star isn't exactly ecstatic about the new ad campaign:
"Like I say, I haven't talked to them, but I prefer not to use [El Hombre]," Pujols told a reporter at Angels camp on Wednesday. Says Angels VP Tim Mead: "We're more aware of his feelings about that now...."In St. Louis, the fans, his teammates and the Cardinals PR people learned that Albert Pujols did not want to be known as El Hombre. It was a play on The Man, the longtime nickname for local legend Stan Musial. Pujols felt that Spanish-izing the name for him did Musial a dishonor. So now he comes to the Angels in Anaheim, and just before the start of spring training this week, 20 billboards go up in Southern California marketing Pujols as El Hombre.
Whoops. I guess the one with Albert and the "Big A" message can stay, however.
(More from Mark "axonometric projection videogame" Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles here.)
photo credit to Stanford's own Molly Knight
8 comments:
Fine Albert, "La Mujer" it is.
Still beats last years "Tradition" billboards.
Im not really sure what tradition means to a team who changes their location, colors, and uniforms once every decade or so.
What about "El Viejo"
Here's looking forward to 2015 when Albert will have earned his new nickname, Albatross.
Ohhhhhhhhhh...duh!
*slaps forehead*
Does that make Tony Jackson a bootleg version of Mark Saxon?
Not to be out done, James Loney and Ronnie Belliard have billboards the say: "El Borracho"
@Hideo Nomo 1:38p: nice sleuthing!
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