A day after we discovered Major League Baseball’s multi-million-dollar deal with lawn care giant Scotts Miracle Gro, a perusal of media pickups shows that someone in the company’s PR department is doing his or her job. The nauseating rhetoric is everywhere.
“The grass on the field of play is part of the very foundation of baseball, so this deal with Scotts, the worldwide leader in lawn care, is a natural fit for Major League Baseball,” said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball. “Now with the help of Scotts, our fans can challenge their local clubs for the title of who has the ‘best lawn in the neighborhood.’”
Or, in other words, who can pollute the most, waste the most water, create the most greenhouse gases and otherwise destroy the planet by the greatest percentage, all while making their children and pets ill in the process? Game on, according to MLB.
This is the biggest marketing travesty since the TruGreen/ChemLawn company tried to market its programs through the parents of youth soccer players. But if you remember correctly, thanks to folks like Toxics Action Network and Beyond Pesticides, that marketing idea didn’t stand. This won’t either.
By the time those of us in the environmental and medical community are finished, Scotts Miracle Gro will be selling less product to the fans of the Red Sox, Yankees, Cardinals and Cubs. Not more.
So, to the folks at Miracle Gro: Let’s play ball.
May 4th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Along the lines of sports and turf, we are looking for any institution that manages their sports fields organically, particularly in the western US but nationwide. We need support for our organic program that is getting pressure to REVERT TO SYNTHETIC FERTILIZERS!!