Touting Trout and the Real American Dream

Children have a place in marketing, a very substantial one. They see a candy bar, burger or cereal box with their favorite sports hero and they begin to develop a deep need to have them. A toy at a friend’s house or in a magazine, a new ride at an amusement park, or the latest movie, concert, or adventure, stays in their mind until they get it or something more desirable replaces it.

Marketing has an impact on all of us. It teases our senses and tries our tendencies and temptations. We can come to believe Coke is “the real thing.” Or we can have an education on the ingredients in a Big Mac with a catchy song that we sing endlessly. A product to be recognized, needs additional help from marketing minds to promote it and to educate consumers on what it is and why we need it….now.

The idea of marketing is much like the minds of children. They see something and begin to imagine it as real in their lives. And they want it as soon as possible, but preferably, now. Marketing uses imagination and creates a sense in us of need and want, it stirs up the curious and desire for something justeven though just moments before we saw the ad or heard about it by word of mouth, it stirs up the curious and desire for something just moments before we knew nothing about it. 

Marketing and advertising study surveys, conduct interviews, focus groups, decide target segments and demographics, write and produce advertising and manipulate through imagination and creativity in ways that will draw us toward what we believe we have to have now.  Of course, there are times when a car or house or travel can wait, but if marketing is effective, it will find a home in our memories and taunt us until it is realized.

I’ve thought about the effect of social media when used to present oneself or share the activities and feelings about daily life. I’ve been thinking, marketing has its place, but when does it ever become real?

Last month, I read an article written by ESPN MLB insider, Jeff Passan. He tells the story of a young 7-year-old boy named Gavin Edelson who idolizes and knows everything about Angels’ superstar baseball player, Mike Trout.  Gavin takes on the challenge to answer any question about Mike Trout.  He also wears Mike Trout athletic wear every day to school.  His parents refer to Gavin’s wardrobe as “troutfits.” 

Gavin didn’t see a commercial.  He watches Trout, heard about him, saw him on baseball cards, and attends the Angels-Orioles game every year with his family.  He lives Mike Trout inside and out. I am including the story in a link here so you can read it in its entirety. Gavin lives in a world saturated with Mike Trout.  Why?

When we are young, we are discovering the realities and lessons of opposition, sorting out what is real and what is not, what is truth, and what is less than. Most of what we discover is through observation and asking, “why.” Sometimes, we learn through watching someone who isn’t an imaginative figure use what is real within them to live a long-awaited and earned dream. Mike Trout is living his dream far beyond expectation, and Gavin is observing him, beginning to form a dream of his own.  But just recently, Gavin’s only dream was to meet Mike Trout.

And in a journey of events, and by holding up a sign that read, “Mike Trout’s #1 Fan,” catching the attention of Mike Trout’s teammates, Gavin’s dream became realized. Recently, Mike Trout made time for Gavin during batting practice. He didn’t just wave. He talked with him, spent time with him, because he knew what it meant to be a boy with a dream and a lot of outfits touting his favorite athlete.

As quoted in Mr. Passan’s article, Gavin describes the experience, “I remember it’s the best day of my life, because I got to hang out with Mike Trout.”

In the same article, Mike Trout shared, “He’s going to live with that forever, and he’s going to tell all his friends.  Any chance you get to make a kid’s day – you don’t know what they’re going through.  I didn’t even know him before that. Just interaction with the guys, bringing him on the field, watching BP, I think it’s special for him.”

Mike Trout is known for being a great baseball player. Some experts are predicting he may become the greatest baseball player of all time. Many also say he doesn’t have much personality and wonder if he is marketable.  Oh, he’s marketable all right. As Mike Trout. The brand is Mike Trout. He hits long home runs, makes great plays and is making his history. His legend is becoming real, and he’s doing it all by himself with the help of young boys like Gavin, who have been observing his greatness and wearing his “troutfits” everywhere.

Mike Trout’s decision to spend time, not just wave, but spend real time with Gavin, made him very real to Gavin and to the rest of us. As Gavin’s father, Jason Edelman put it, “There’s no better way to market Mike Trout than to show what he did that day.”

Mike Trout, the best player in baseball isn’t just the best player in baseball, he’s been in Gavin’s shoes, and it is all coming back to him what it means to be a child with a wish for a dream to come true, now.  No taglines, target audiences or positioning statements. Real people make real dreams come true. And that is the real American dream.

Reference:

Passan, J. (2019). Passan: The inside story of the viral 7-year-old mike trout and his troutfits. ESPN. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/id/26710156/the-story-viral-7-year-old-mike-trout-fan-troutfits

Photography: Joe Noyes

Link to story http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26710156/the-story-viral-7-year-old-mike-trout-fan-troutfits