NEWS RELEASE
For More Information Contact: Gary Ruskin (202) 387-8030
For Immediate Release: May 5th, 2004
Commercial Alert Urges People, Baseball Fans Not to Buy Sony Products or See Sony Movies
In response to plans by Major League Baseball to deface pro baseball bases with a spider web pattern and advertising for the upcoming “Spider-Man 2” movie, Commercial Alert is urging people and especially baseball fans not to buy any Sony products, or see any Sony movies, including “Spider-Man 2.”
The ads are slated for first, second and third bases, pitching mound rubbers and on-deck circles, along with stadium signage and movie trailers on scoreboards, according to today’s Wall Street Journal.
“It’s time for baseball fans to stand up to the greedy corporations that are insulting us and our national pastime,” said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert. “We urge everyone not to buy Sony products, and not to see Sony movies, especially Spider-Man 2.”
“How low will baseball sink? Next year, will they replace the bats with long Coke bottles, and the bases with big hamburger buns?” Ruskin asked.
Last month, Commercial Alert sent a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig protesting the placement of ads on baseball uniforms for the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Americans are growing increasingly fed up with the intrusion of commercialism into nearly every part of our lives and culture. According to a poll released last month by Yankelovich Partners, 65% of Americans “feel constantly bombarded with too much marketing and advertising,” 61% “feel the amount of marketing and advertising is out of control” and 65% “think there should be more limits and regulations on marketing and advertising.”
Commercial Alert urges people not to purchase any Sony products, including the video game console Play Station, music from Sony Music Entertainment and the Columbia House record club, movies from Sony Pictures or the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, or Sony Electronics’ TVs, PDAs, PCs, DVD and MP3 players, camcorders, camcorders, CD players, and car audio products.
Commercial Alert is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy. For more information, see our website at: http://www.commercialalert.org.
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