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Ad war between Twins and TWolves escalates

Posted at 2:21 PM on February 16, 2011 by Bob Collins (14 Comments)
Filed under: Marketing and advertising, Sports

Remember last season when the Minnesota Timberwolves put up a sign on Target Center for Sanford Health which was clearly aimed at the Target Field audience?

Purists said the ad, which was put up just before the start of last fall's playoffs, would dominate the view from the third-base-side seats and ruin the ambiance of the House That Joe Mauer Built. A Twins executive called the size of the ad "shocking."

Today,the Twins released this photograph of a new scoreboard (with ads, no doubt), the Twins are building in right field. Perhaps it's mere coincidence the scoreboard will block the Timberwolves' ad.

Your move, Wolves.

Update 4:33 p.m. - The Twins have sent along this field-seat view

Comments (14)

The view of the ad from the third base line looks unchanged. From the upper deck near left field, this does something to block it, but the view Sanford paid for is still wide open.

Posted by BReynolds | February 16, 2011 2:33 PM

Looks to me like the new scoreboard only covers one small section more than the old signage did.

Posted by Neil | February 16, 2011 2:35 PM

Funny.... As long as the Twins are collecting the ad revenue it's not so "shocking" after all.

Posted by Ryan Mathre | February 16, 2011 2:35 PM

I think it's weird that they say it will now block the T-Wolves ad, but they're not showing the same angle of sight.

The new ad/board will only block it a bit... but not as much as their new picture suggests.

Anyways, who cares? It's Target Center's wall, they can do what they want.

And shouldn't Target Field play nice with Target Center.

If the Twins are really worried they'll lose viewers to some ad outside the building, maybe they should have signed or gotten in some good relievers this offseason.

My 2 ALT+0162
Murph

Posted by Murph | February 16, 2011 2:36 PM

um, those signs were there last season. they were just a tarp before with sponsors on it. this has nothing to do with the giant stanford sign on target center. your move bob collins.

Posted by branden | February 16, 2011 2:36 PM

and besides bob collins, if that is your REAL name. i'm sure it has nothing to do with the people who sit in the usbank porch or next to the wall down the 3rd base line not being able to see the scoreboard in left :)

Posted by branden | February 16, 2011 2:40 PM

maybe they should have just put up some pine trees there that when fully grown could have blocked the view... seems like it'd be cheaper...

Also who is paying for this new scoreboard? did the state need to contribute 30%?

Posted by jon | February 16, 2011 2:56 PM

Looks to me like the Target folks could put a whole raft of billboards on top of the Target Center. They could even put up a huge display that ran ads throughout each Twins game.

Posted by Mark Gisleson | February 16, 2011 3:19 PM

Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if the trees DO end up on the plaza

Posted by Bob Collins | February 16, 2011 3:22 PM

This is impressively bad reporting. As noted in previous comments, the new scoreboard in right field will do nothing to block the ad. I expect better journalism from MPR than this.

Posted by Andy Johnson | February 16, 2011 4:00 PM

The reason for the new scoreboard is that the current one can't be seen from the left field bleachers. It will only obscure the Sanford ad for some sitting near the left outfield.

Posted by Rich | February 16, 2011 4:05 PM

Yeah, good thing he hedged on the whole premise of this story by closing with, "Perhaps it's mere coincidence the scoreboard will block the Timberwolves' ad."

The new scoreboard is only about ten feet taller than the old one. It does nothing to obscure the Target Center ad for most of the stadium, including the popular sightlines for which the Sanford ad was designed:

http://www.papascott.de/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/jim-thome-si-cover.jpeg

http://zkonedog.mlblogs.com/target%20field.JPG

Posted by Elston Gunn | February 16, 2011 4:55 PM

I'm never distracted by the Best Buy or Subway ads behind homeplate when I watch a game on TV (which I apparently won't be able to do this year for want of cable revenues). At the park I've never been distracted by the colossal Best Buy or Budweiser signs. Even with the Sanford sign there like a sore thumb, the focus of my gaze is the beautiful Mpls skyline. This seems to me like the organization throwing a tantrum because someone else figured out a revenue stream that can be aimed at their captive audience. You want to block outside ads? Guess what - you just left an enclosed stadium. Welcome to the outdoors. Now you put up with not only rain, but outside advertising as well. What's next, suing Metro Transit for ads on buses visible from the plaza?

Posted by Kevin M | February 16, 2011 5:37 PM

They already tried pine trees in center field and are cutting them down for being too distracting for batters.

Posted by kennedy | February 17, 2011 1:25 PM