Sounds pretty good, huh? Well, terms and conditions apply. The free tacos are only available at participating Taco Bells (whatever that means) on October 30th from 2-5 p.m. So, in order to claim your prize, you must first find a Taco Bell that's participating in the promotion, then go in during a three-hour period far removed from traditional meal times, when most people are working anyway. It costs far more in wages and/or lost productivity than the 79 cents you save by getting your taco for free.I know that marketing is the lifeblood of sports telecasts, but naturally, since Fox knows no bounds when it comes to cross-promotion, this particular campaign was beyond shameless. There was the obligatory cut-away to the Taco Bell CEO sitting in the stands (taking up a seat that could hold a real Red Sox fan) to allow him to plug his fast food (excuse me, quick service) restaurant for the camera.
Then there was the dugout conversation between Ellsbury and Royce Clayton, recorded the day before, in which Clayton informed Ellsbury that if he stole a base, everyone in America would get a free taco. Come on, Fox. Do you really expect us to believe that you fortuitously chose to mike up a random inactive infielder who just happened to have a conversation about a certain promotion with the very player who ended up triggering that promotion? Give me a break. I'd bet a small fortune that you have recordings of Clayton engaging in similar "spontaneous" conversations with Julio Lugo and Dustin Pedroia and any other Sox player who poses a legitimate threat to steal a base. I'm also curious to know how much you paid Clayton to engage in that little publicity stunt.
I'll begrudgingly accept the in-your-face marketing as a necessary cost of paying my team's salaries, but please Fox, don't treat your viewers like idiots in doing so.
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