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DETROIT — Frank Thomas's prodigious talents hitting home runs throughout his illustrious 17-year Major League Baseball career have been well celebrated.
However, the sight of Mr. Thomas, nicknamed the Big Hurt, swinging a pillow at a child in a commercial for the Toronto Blue Jays is not being as well received, at least by officials who regulate advertising on Canadian private television.
To win approval for unrestricted airing of its commercial, the American League club had to revise the original 30-second spot, which features a carefree Mr. Thomas in a pillow fight with a couple of young boys who are hopping on a bed.
"I think we are taking ourselves a little too seriously if we're saying a pillow fight cannot air because it's viewed as too aggressive, or Frank's too big versus a small child," said Laurel Lindsay, vice-president of marketing for the Blue Jays.
"It's ridiculous. I can't shrink Frank and nor would I try to make the child grow. That's sort of the life of the [commercial], seeing the two interact. It was disappointing for sure. Surprising, I think, would be the ultimate word."
The Jays opened their 2007 season on Monday, defeating the Tigers 5-3 in the first of three games in Detroit.
Mr. Thomas, a designated hitter, is one of the club's new additions and a bona fide star.
A former U.S. college football player who stands 6 foot 5 and weighs 275 pounds, he has 487 career home-run hits.
In the original version of the 30-second commercial, one of a series promoting the start of the Blue Jays' new season, a smiling Mr. Thomas enters a bedroom where a couple of boys are jumping on a bed and engaging in a pillow fight.
"Hey, you guys are supposed to be in bed," he says. One of the boys then hits him with a pillow.
"Oh yeah?" Mr. Thomas responds, grabbing the pillow and striking the child with a mighty baseball-like swing. Feathers fly. The child rockets backward off the bed and can be heard thudding to the floor.
The commercial cuts to a smiling Mr. Thomas trotting out of the room as he would around the base paths after hitting a home run. The fallen child pops his head up and proclaims, "Wow."
The Blue Jays and Publicis Toronto, the company that came up with the ad, felt the spot was innocuous. However, the Television Bureau of Canada, the watchdog that approves TV commercials for private broadcasters, thought otherwise.
TBC refused to approve the commercial until the part showing the child being knocked to the floor was edited out.
The CBC, however, is able to broadcast the original version of the commercial. As a public broadcaster, it has its own rules for determining suitable commercial content and it was satisfied the ad met its standards. There have been reports that the unedited version appeared Monday on Rogers Sportsnet, a private broadcaster.
Jim Patterson, the president and chief executive officer of the TBC, refused to comment yesterday when asked what concerns his organization had with the ad.
"That's between us and the advertiser, quite frankly," he said.On the TBC's website, there are several guidelines for advertisers to gain approval for commercials.
They are cautioned that "it is imperative to keep the best interests of young children and youth in mind when producing commercials. Because children and youth are very impressionable, commercials should not contain any visual or audio portrayals which are detrimental to their well-being."
The TBC's website goes on to state that acts of violence, "even comedic violence," can be found to be excessive when included in commercials.
"Their issue was family violence, which we think is a ridiculous claim," said Tony Ciccia, vice-president of Publicis. "The Jays are a family-friendly organization to say the least. From our perspective, we did a funny spot that really shows the guys want to win. The children were actors and all the appropriate measures were taken to make sure everybody was safe."
The TBC also refused to approve another of the Jays' commercials, this one featuring pitcher A. J. Burnett, until the word "dramatization" was added to the spot.
In the commercial, Mr. Burnett is late putting out the household garbage, arriving outside his home in a bathrobe just as the truck is pulling away. His response is to pitch a small bag of garbage and it falls into the back of the truck after skimming the head of one of the workers.
Mr. Thomas, who has three children, said he was shocked by the reaction to his ad.
"When we were doing the ad, I said we better keep some smiles in here and make it really lighthearted because people are going to take it the wrong way with me smacking a kid with a pillow like that," he said. "I just don't want people to think I'm a violent-type guy because I'm not. I'm a fun-loving guy."
