BlogsAM: Bobble Foot

The Saints will be giving out a “Bobble Foot” to the first 2,500 fans at tonight’s game against the Fort Worth Cats. The Bobble Foot is shown to the right, and, as you see, is distinct from a Bobble Head. Naturally, the Saints will be handing this out on National Tap Dance Day.

…well, this is absolutely great. i’ve been very consistent in my “narrow stance” on promotions. i believe that anything that brings fans to the ballpark is a good promotion. saints baseball is an amazing experience, and if it takes a brilliant promotion to draw a sell-out in may, then so be it, because the 6,000 fans tonight will get to experience a baseball game along with a national event. there has been some criticism aimed at this promotion (apparently some people don’t support tap-dancing), but let me remind you that the saints are a business, and in this crazy scheme to make money, isn’t it possible that they would want some media attention? perhaps that draws the ire of some members of the minor league community, but, in reality, while most other teams would love to execute the way the saints do, it just so happens that the saints are better than nearly every other minor league team at drawing attention and putting fans in the seats. look no further than the attention that the bobble foot has received…

• Check out the Second Best Person in the World on Thursday, May 22nd’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

• The following is a post from the popular blog, The Smoking Gun (click on the link for pictures of the Bobble Foot):

“MAY 22–Capitalizing on Senator Larry Craig’s restroom bust, a Minnesota minor league baseball team this Sunday is giving away a promotional item celebrating the Republican politician’s arrest last year at the Minneapolis-St.Paul airport. Dubbed a “bobblefoot” (as opposed to a bobblehead doll), the polyresin giveaway depicts an occupied bathroom stall (the inhabitant’s pants and shoes can be seen below the stall’s panels). When the St. Paul Saints’s “bobblefoot” is shaken, one of the spring-loaded feet taps. The keepsake, which will be handed out to the first 2500 fans attending the Saints’s May 25 game against the Fort Worth Cats, can be seen below and on the following pages. According to an undercover cop’s account, while in the airport bathroom, Craig “tapped his toes several times and moved his foot closer to my foot.” The officer, Sgt. Dave Karsnia, was seated in an adjoining stall and believed Craig’s footsie was a signal that the politician was seeking sex. Craig has denied this, blaming his wide stance for Karsnia’s unfortunate misinterpretation.”

• USA Today had this to say:

“The St. Paul Saints will give away 2,500 “bobble foot” dolls before Sunday’s game at Midway Stadium.The baseball team says the promotion, which coincides with National Tap Dance Day, is “in tribute to all their toe-tapping friends and fans from around the nation who may ever have set foot in Minneapolis-St. Paul… even for just a change of planes. The one-of-a-kind collector’s item depicts a restroom stall and a bobble foot peaking out from underneath.”Can you guess what they’re referring to? Here’s a not-so-subtle hint.

“We decided to have a little fun,” spokesman Sean Aronson tells On Deadline. “If people want to make that correlation they’re more than welcome to,” he adds.”

• Has anyone heard of the Washington Post? Because they said this:

“Sen. Larry Craig’s (R-Idaho) wide stance was already part of our pop-culture lexicon. But this weekend, it’ll get as American as apple pie and baseball.

The “Saints” baseball team in St. Paul, home of the wide stance, where Craig was busted in an airport men’s room sex sting, is giving away free Larry Craig “bobble foot” dolls at this Sunday’s game. The first 2,500 fans in the park will get a “one-of-a-kind collector’s item” — a miniature bathroom stall with a spring-loaded bobble foot peaking out and tapping from underneath the stall.

It’s all in the name of tap dancing, according to the team’s Web site.

“On a night that would make Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Jerry the Mouse proud, the Saints highlight their 2008 promotional calendar with a tribute to National Tap Dance Day,” the Saints’ Web site says.

The first lucky 2,5000 through the gates will get a bobble foot “in
honor of National Tap Dance Day and in tribute to all their toe-tapping friends and fans from around the nation who may ever have set foot in Minneapolis-St. Paul… even for just a change of planes.”

It was in a men’s room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport where Craig’s foot tapping was taken by an undercover police officer to be a solicitation for sex. He was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and pleaded guilty, and later unsuccessfully fought his conviction.

His wide stance has cost him a fortune — hundreds of thousands of dollars — in legal bills. Craig was also admonished by the Senate ethics committee. And, because of his scandal, is retiring when his term expires in January 2009.

According to a Saints press release about its Larry Craig bobble foot day, “It doesn’t matter if your tapping style is done with a ‘wide stance.’”"

• Finally, some sports network called ESPN picked it up:

“The best promo of the year so far, and likely all season, is courtesy of — who else? — the St. Paul Saints. This Sunday, the Saints are giving away Bobble-Foots, which depict a bathroom stall with a tapping foot visible under the stall. Officially, the bobblefoot honors National Tap Dancing Day, but it’s clear the Saints have an incident in mind that took place just a few miles away from Midway Stadium at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport last summer involving Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). “While many people tap their foot because they are impatient, others may do it because they are nervous,” the Saints press release reads. “It doesn’t matter if your tapping style is done with a ‘wide stance’ or is used as some sort of code, the Saints are asking all fans to tap to their heart’s content on May 25.” Sean Aronson, the Saints director of media relations, said the idea was a group effort by the team’s staff and that the bobblefoot was actually a simple figure to have made. “Because most bobbleheads use a face and need the person’s likeness, this was a piece of cake because none of that was needed,” he said. “All we asked for was a bathroom stall and feet that poke out of the bottom, so it was very simple.”"

…so yeah, i’d say the bobble foot was a pretty successful idea. by the way, there’s a lot more, just go to google and search “saints bobble foot” and browse some of the great stuff written about the event…

Tags: Bobble Foot, Promotions