Sure, David Ortiz’s Fenway Swan Song turned out to be (Not So) Sweet Caroline as the Sox lost five of their last six, but at least Big Papi got a sweet sendoff in the local dailies.
Sunday’s papers were a Papipalooza of congratulatory ads, with both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald publishing special Commemorative Sections.
Their front pages gave you a good idea of who was going to win the advertising sweepstakes in the Farewell to Big Arms.
Notice that the Globe section is sponsored by Xfinity, while the Herald section is sponsored by nobody.
And notice the advertisers in the thirsty local tabloid: Catholic Memorial High School, Aria Trattoria, Sullivan Tire, Central Auto Team, Parker Professional Driving School, Modell’s Sporting Goods, and – our personal favorite – The Hamilton Collection.
Nothing like a Laser-Etched Glass Sculpture to keep the the memories alive.
Crosstown at the Boston Globe, there was a different class of commemorative ads: New Balance, Mohegan Sun, University of Massachusetts, and – remarkably – the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Not to mention ads from Herb Chambers, Dunkin’ Donuts, Sleepy’s, Miltons, Granite City, and, of course, Xfinity.
No surprise there: That high/low advertising split runs pretty much true to form for the local dailies.
But here’s where it gets interesting:
Boston GlobeSox owner John Henry ran this ad in Sunday’s Globe Sports section.
Close-up for the copy-impaired:
The thing is, Henry did not run the same ad in the Herald, even though that would have been the right (and inexpensive) thing to do.
Bad form, Mr. GlobeSox. Bad form.