Spider-Bases No More: The court of public opinion has trumped and there will not be Spider Man bases across ballparks in June. After seeing the universal public outrage at the proposal, Columbia Pictures agreed to take the bases idea, which had been its own, out of the agreement with baseball.



This is great news for baseball fans and purists. It also serves as a reminder that advertisements can backfire and result in negative publicity for the advertiser. Hopefully, baseball and potential sponsors will take note of this and remember that there are limits on what fans can tolerate. Outfield wall? OK. Ads on uniforms? Tolerable. But the field should remain pristine -- a reminder that there is still a 'game' within the 'business' of sport.



P.S. Baseball also has plans to put some sort of Mother's Day/Breast Cancer Awareness logos on bases this weekend. That is also a bad idea and I hope baseball backs off. Great cause, but the same problems apply. Give them stadium advertising, television and radio spots and plugs on the Internet.

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