'Spider-Man 2' ads will be displayed on bases in parks

Baseball is promoting the movie to appeal to younger fans and make money.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Spider-Man is coming to a base near you.
In the latest example of a sponsor's stamp on the sports world, ads for the movie "Spider-Man 2" will be placed atop bases at major league ball parks during games from June 11-13.
The promotion, announced Wednesday, is part of baseball's pitch to appeal to younger fans -- and make money along the way.
But the New York Yankees, one of 15 teams at home that weekend, balked at the idea after the deal was announced.
They will put ads on the bases only during batting practice, and then just for one game, team spokesman Rick Cerrone said.
While commemorative logos have been on bases for special events such as the All-Star game or World Series, the Hall of Fame knew of no other commercial ads on bases, spokesman Jeff Idelson said.
Eyeing youth link
"This was a unique chance to combine what is a sort of a universally popular character and our broad fan base, including the youth market we're trying to reach out to," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.
"It doesn't impact the play or performance of the game."
"I guess it's inevitable, but it's sad," said Fay Vincent, a former baseball commissioner and former president of Columbia Pictures, which is releasing "Spider-Man 2."
The movie promotion has been in the works for more than a year and will include ad buys and ballpark events, such as giving masks to fans, said Jacqueline Parkes, baseball's senior vice president for marketing and advertising.
The ads, about 4-by-4-inches with a red background and yellow webbing, won't appear on home plate. The Yankees did agree to allow ads in the on-deck circles during their series that weekend against San Diego.
Movie debut
"Spider-Man 2" opens June 30, and the weekend in early June was picked because it is during inter-league play, which draws higher attendance than usual.
"We need to reach out to a younger demographic to bring them to the ball park," Parkes said.
"They are looking for nontraditional breakthrough ways to convey 'Spider-Man' messaging. It's the future of how we generate excitement inside the stadium and about the game itself."
Baseball will receive about $3.6 million in a deal negotiated by Major League Baseball Properties with Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Inc., a high-ranking baseball executive said on condition of anonymity.
Money-maker
The Yankees and Boston Red Sox will get more than $100,000 each, the team executive said, also on condition of anonymity.
Most of the other 13 teams playing at home that weekend will get about $50,000 apiece, the team executive said.
Ralph Nader, a presidential candidate and consumer advocate, criticized the deal.
He wrote Tuesday to baseball commissioner Bud Selig, denouncing the decision to have ads on uniforms during the season-opening series in March between the Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tokyo.
"It's gotten beyond grotesque," Nader said. "The fans have to revolt here. Otherwise, they'll be looking at advertisements between advertisements."
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