Ricketts Family Annoyance Thread

[Saul Goodman]

Sadly, yes.  I saw it elsewhere first and thought for sure it was a Photoshop parody.  Had a good laugh, went to the Cubs website, and ... oh.

As in "I don't get this Al Yellon Photoshop"?

Exactly.

[RedBeard]

I guess one could argue if they REALLY want to make a Way of Life (tm) ad, should it not feature a Chad and/or Trixie?

[Internet Apex]

I guess one could argue if they REALLY want to make a Way of Life (tm) ad, should it not feature a Chad and/or Trixie?

I think it should show me urinating in someone's yard.

[Brownie]

I guess one could argue if they REALLY want to make a Way of Life (tm) ad, should it not feature a Chad and/or Trixie?

I think it should show me urinating in someone's yard.

That would work great!

"W"ater the Vines of Hope!

[Richard Chuggar]

I saw Tom Ricketts while he was being interviewed on The Score yesterday morning.  He's pretty tall.  Like 6'3"ish.

[Slaky]

I saw Tom Ricketts while he was being interviewed on The Score yesterday morning.  He's pretty tall.  Like 6'3"ish.

And then what did you see? Keep going - I don't want this story to end.

[Richard Chuggar]

I saw Tom Ricketts while he was being interviewed on The Score yesterday morning.  He's pretty tall.  Like 6'3"ish.

And then what did you see? Keep going - I don't want this story to end.

Nothing.  I blacked out.

[Lance Dicksons Arm]

As a one-time marketing guy...I'm maybe not as offended by this as most of you guys because there's a tactical value to it.  There is a segment out there that really gets into slogans and the like ...probably a larger number than are actively offended by them.   From a strict business perspective, this probably makes some sense for the Cubs.  Most teams seems to have these slogans or themes...some will refresh them every year.   This kind of thing was remarkably absent during the Tribune's time as owners...other than 1995, or whenever it was that McPhail took over and we got that one season of "We're working on it"...which I thought was pretty silly when accompanied by the video footage chronicling the team's on-field incompetence.  Maybe I'm an idiot...but I 've always thought that was a pretty good campaign.

This Way of Life thing also annoys me less than the whole "Year 1" thing that also seems to be floating out there in some places.  There's nothing "fresh" about this group of Cubs.

I will cheer the Ricketts for getting some cup holders over installed over the troughs though.  That pleased me yesterday.   

[Richard Chuggar]

As a one-time marketing guy...I'm maybe not as offended by this as most of you guys because there's a tactical value to it.  There is a segment out there that really gets into slogans and the like ...probably a larger number than are actively offended by them.   From a strict business perspective, this probably makes some sense for the Cubs.  Most teams seems to have these slogans or themes...some will refresh them every year.   This kind of thing was remarkably absent during the Tribune's time as owners...other than 1995, or whenever it was that McPhail took over and we got that one season of "We're working on it"...which I thought was pretty silly when accompanied by the video footage chronicling the team's on-field incompetence.  Maybe I'm an idiot...but I 've always thought that was a pretty good campaign.

This Way of Life thing also annoys me less than the whole "Year 1" thing that also seems to be floating out there in some places.  There's nothing "fresh" about this group of Cubs.

I will cheer the Ricketts for getting some cup holders over installed over the troughs though.  That pleased me yesterday.   

Pen could have come up with something way worse

[Bort]

As a one-time marketing guy...I'm maybe not as offended by this as most of you guys because there's a tactical value to it.  There is a segment out there that really gets into slogans and the like ...probably a larger number than are actively offended by them.   From a strict business perspective, this probably makes some sense for the Cubs.  Most teams seems to have these slogans or themes...some will refresh them every year.   This kind of thing was remarkably absent during the Tribune's time as owners...other than 1995, or whenever it was that McPhail took over and we got that one season of "We're working on it"...which I thought was pretty silly when accompanied by the video footage chronicling the team's on-field incompetence.  Maybe I'm an idiot...but I 've always thought that was a pretty good campaign.

This Way of Life thing also annoys me less than the whole "Year 1" thing that also seems to be floating out there in some places.  There's nothing "fresh" about this group of Cubs.

I will cheer the Ricketts for getting some cup holders over installed over the troughs though.  That pleased me yesterday.   

Pen could have come up with something way worse

The only thing better than Pen's slogan are the deals.

[Armchair_QB]

I'm surprised they didn't roll out a slogan like, "2010 Chicago Cubs: Now 100% Milton-Free!"

[MAD]

Big shocker.  The lemmings are tripping all over themselves to deliver sloppy rim jobs to Tom.

Some of the gems...

I just love the Ricketts. They get it and they know how to connect.

Yes, because they walked through the park on Opening Day.  Nothing says "regular guy" like a billionaire owner daring to walk amongst the plebes for some photo ops.

That's awesome.  I hope to meet him someday.

Dare to dream, little man.

what a badass.  love to meet him

A badass?  Really?

Unbelievable.  So much for the stuffed shirt corporate stiff who hides out in his luxury suite. What a novel approach, talking to fans!

Yes.  He's a regular guy!  Like us!  Only a billion times richer.

So far, so awesome with the Ricketts. I love this guy. It's like having our very own Steinbrenner, except not paranoid or crazy. He's basically doing exactly what you or I would do if all of our dreams came true and we owned the Cubs.

The Ricketts basically bet their entire family fortune on this, and it's going to work out better than anyone could have hoped.

I predict that in 20 years when Tom is handing the reins to one of his kids, Wrigley will be completely rebuilt, the Cubs will have contended in essentially every season, the Ricketts family will be Chicago royalty, and their family name will be as well-known nationally as the Steinbrenners or Reinsdorfs.

The team isn't going to appreciate in value the way it did for the Trib, but I think that's beside the point. The Ricketts family is going to make a huge amount of money every year, and the non-balance-sheet benefits of owning the Cubs are priceless.

I...I got nuthin'...

How often do you think he will stop by the bleachers?

Because I'd like to meet him on July 21, for the Cubs-Astros game.

Yikes.  It's starting to get creepy in here, no?

But Al actually responds to that one:

It's possible.

Um, thanks for the insight, you dolt.

Tom Ricketts is the best prospect the Cubs have.

He's gonna bring this team to glory.

To say these windowlickers are easily impressed would be a vast understatement.  

Naturally, nary a dissenting voice could be heard amidst this embarrssing symphony of slavishness.

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

This Way of Life thing also annoys me less than the whole "Year 1" thing that also seems to be floating out there in some places.  There's nothing "fresh" about this group of Cubs.

"Way of Life" may not annoy me any less than "Year 1," but I think the latter definitely deserves recognition for also being totally fucking retarded.

[PenFoe]

This Way of Life thing also annoys me less than the whole "Year 1" thing that also seems to be floating out there in some places.  There's nothing "fresh" about this group of Cubs.

"Way of Life" may not annoy me any less than "Year 1," but I think the latter definitely deserves recognition for also being totally fucking retarded.

Okay...so a couple glaring problems.

1. The images in those ads are a huge turn-off, whether it's a photo of Yeti gorging himself or the roofie ad, they're just totally unappealing.
2. "Way of Life"...The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908, let's not celebrate the Cubs' Way of Life here. 

You have two things to sell here...either baseball (harder) or Wrigley (easier). 

The latter will piss off a lot of residents of dark corners, but it's certainly a viable tactic, and it seems like they sort of went with this approach but took the wrong angles. 

Now, admittedly I haven't been to Wrigley in probably 7 years, but I don't remember the food being very good, at least not compared to say...every other ballpark in baseball.

So if you're going to sell the experience, which is a fair proposition since the baseball hasn't been that "sellable" for the last century, just sell the right aspects of it.

[R-V]

Big shocker.  The lemmings are tripping all over themselves to deliver sloppy rim jobs to Tom.

Some of the gems...

I just love the Ricketts. They get it and they know how to connect.

Yes, because they walked through the park on Opening Day.  Nothing says "regular guy" like a billionaire owner daring to walk amongst the plebes for some photo ops.

That's awesome.  I hope to meet him someday.

Dare to dream, little man.

what a badass.  love to meet him

A badass?  Really?

Unbelievable.  So much for the stuffed shirt corporate stiff who hides out in his luxury suite. What a novel approach, talking to fans!

Yes.  He's a regular guy!  Like us!  Only a billion times richer.

So far, so awesome with the Ricketts. I love this guy. It's like having our very own Steinbrenner, except not paranoid or crazy. He's basically doing exactly what you or I would do if all of our dreams came true and we owned the Cubs.

The Ricketts basically bet their entire family fortune on this, and it's going to work out better than anyone could have hoped.

I predict that in 20 years when Tom is handing the reins to one of his kids, Wrigley will be completely rebuilt, the Cubs will have contended in essentially every season, the Ricketts family will be Chicago royalty, and their family name will be as well-known nationally as the Steinbrenners or Reinsdorfs.

The team isn't going to appreciate in value the way it did for the Trib, but I think that's beside the point. The Ricketts family is going to make a huge amount of money every year, and the non-balance-sheet benefits of owning the Cubs are priceless.

I...I got nuthin'...

How often do you think he will stop by the bleachers?

Because I'd like to meet him on July 21, for the Cubs-Astros game.

Yikes.  It's starting to get creepy in here, no?

But Al actually responds to that one:

It's possible.

Um, thanks for the insight, you dolt.

Tom Ricketts is the best prospect the Cubs have.

He's gonna bring this team to glory.

To say these windowlickers are easily impressed would be a vast understatement.  

Naturally, nary a dissenting voice could be heard amidst this embarrssing symphony of slavishness.

Holy shit. How much you wanna bet that a significant factor in these mutants deciding that Ricketts is a REGULAR GUY is attributable to him wearing a fleece yesterday?

"Look at that guy, he's dressed kinda like me instead of wearing a suit. HE. GETS. IT!"