Mls Kicks Off Irreverent Marketing Campaign Second-Year Soccer League’s Ads Appeal To Fans’ Sense Of Humor

John Harkes tries to train seals. Alexi Lalas breaks cement blocks with his seemingly rocklike skull. And Roy Lassiter kicks out the lights.

Major League Soccer is taking its 10-team circus on the road this year.

Confident it established itself in its 10 member cities in 1996, the new league has embarked on a $5 million “MLS: This Stuff Kicks” ad campaign and marketing effort to spread its name nationwide.

“After establishing the league in year one, it’s very important to take it to the next level,” MLS executive vice president Randy Bernstein says. “We thought it was very important to establish our brand.”

Kicked off more than two weeks ago, the campaign pushes the league’s stars. It started with an ad in USA Today featuring one player from each of the 10 clubs with the headline: “Some heroes have masks: some heroes have capes; some heroes have balls.”

It will continue throughout the season with 10, 30-second TV commercials, featuring each of the 10 players.

“We wanted to bring a comical lightness to it,” Bernstein said. “It’s an irreverent look at sports. Soccer doesn’t have over 100 years of history (in the United States) like the NHL does.”

In his ad, Harkes instructs seals by bouncing a ball on his head. He then asks the animals to try it with their feet … er, flippers. Unable to keep up with the (Washington) D.C. United captain, the seals waddle off with Harkes running after them: “Hey guys, where are you going?”

The humorous ads also give each player a nickname, as in John “The Juggler” Harkes.

Lalas, probably the most recognized player in the United States, is presented as “the headhunter.” After two guys try to break cement slabs with their heads and are carried off on stretchers, Lalas comes in, places a ball on the blocks and smashes the concrete into pebbles.

Others featured include Roy “Lights Out” Lassiter of the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Marcelo “Iron Man” Balboa of the Colorado Rapids, Cobi “The Missile” Jones of the Los Angeles Galaxy, and Preki “The Destroyer” Radosavljevic of the Kansas City Wizards.

Lassiter’s commercial takes its theme from the 1984 baseball movie “The Natural.”

Walking off the field, teammate Cle Kooiman asks Lassiter to “get the lights.” Lassiter spins and fires a ball into the light tower, sending sparks everywhere and causing a blackout. “Thanks, Roy,” Kooiman says.

MLS’ commercials go hand-in-hand with another campaign by ESPN, which televises some of the games.

Those commercials have comedian Michael McKeon dressed as the Queen of England, “the official spokeswoman of Major League Soccer.”