Okay, folks, this is just a big bucket of brilliant right here.
Stephen Colbert and Major League Baseball faced off in the Beat the Streak contest this week, in which fans are encouraged to pick one player every day who they think will get at least one hit. Colbert won. His prize: he gets to take over MLB’s Twitter account for 24 hours. (Non-sardonic-TV-show hosts have a chance to win $5,600,000 by breaking baseball’s 56 game record.)
This is pure awesomeness. I’m a baseball fan. (Go Bravos!) But, truthfully, I wasn’t following MLB on Twitter. Just never thought about it. I usually know what’s happening with my Atlanta Braves and until we get into the Fall, I don’t pay that much attention to the other teams. But, I am absolutely going to follow @MLB now to see what insanity Colbert brings…and because I am a baseball fan, I will stick around and most likely talk some smack with other fans. (I’ve been told I have a separate personality just for baseball because I heckle.)
Speaking of heckling – that would be my only concern with this stunt if MLB were my client: keeping things apolitical, especially in the hyper-charged-hate-fest that’s happening now (from all sides – everyone seems to have lost their minds, and all sense of decorum, lately). So, I would be a little concerned about alienating followers with any political chatter on the MLB’s page.
But, barring that, I say, well done. This is gonna be hilarious.
UPDATE: I’m pleased to say as I followed the Twitter takeover, Colbert kept the funny specific to to baseball and did a good job of staying away from highly charged political topics. Great marketing all around!