Local Credibility vs Global Relatability? It's a New Era, Indeed

Just came across a new commercial for New Era, the hat manufacturer. This one poses two fans, one a Cubs fan, and one a White Sox fan. Traditionally, Cubs fans come from the North Side and Sox fans hail from the South Side and generally don't like each other.

The commercial plays this up and has two fans exchanging barbs about the other's team and associated communities.

The thing that strikes me as really interesting is how local or "insider" it seems to be.

I've never lived in Chicago, but I've had the pleasure of spending a great deal of time there over the years - so between that and having family that calls Chicago home, I have a pretty good grasp of all of the references and attitudes on display. What I'm curious about is, does everyone "get it" and find it funny, or is to too localized?

My thinking is that this would be a hit in the Chicagoland area, but maybe lost on a national market. Is this even a bad thing though? It could be much more meaningful to local consumers to have a focused ad that truly grabs their collective attention rather than some generic campaign. It certainly would cost more to have a different baseball cap ad in every Major League market, but perhaps the ROI would make it money well spent.


Analysis aside, my favorite line in the commercial is "Even our handsomely quaffed ex-governor wouldn't try to sell a White Sox seat"

Free Blago.

Drive Slow