Madison Bumgarner and the perils of product placement
If you’re a Ford dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area, this would be a good time to lay low.
Stoking anger among the customer base generally is not a wise marketing strategy. But when San Francisco Giants fans turned on their televisions last weekend, they saw their ace pitcher in a Ford commercial that included this line: “What Madison Bumgarner does on his day off is anyone’s guess.”
The ad included images of Bumgarner driving a Ford F-150 truck — “the official truck of Madison Bumgarner” — and dirt bikers jumping over it.
What Bumgarner did on his day off last Thursday, of course, was to crash his dirt bike, injuring his pitching shoulder. The Giants will consider themselves fortunate if he returns in June.
Bumgarner met with reporters at AT&T Park on Monday, saying he grew up riding dirt bikes but probably should not have gone riding on Thursday.
“That’s probably not the first time I’ve made a stupid decision,” he said.
Bumgarner also said he rented the bike in question and made sure to say which company made it.
“Honda,” he said.
Follow Bill Shaikin on Twitter @BillShaikin
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