Post by atdestinysend on Mar 6, 2008 13:48:37 GMT -5
What's the real Greenlee doing with the real Chase Utley? Starting March 3, ESPN will cash in on the fantasy-baseball craze with a series of commercials---called "Endless Drama"---pairing top baseball players with some of ABC's steamiest soap stars.
One of the promos has Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Utley playing a waiter who is serving a cheating wife (All My Children's Rebecca Budig) and her boyfriend (One Life to Live's John-Paul Lavoisier) as they play fantasy baseball. Utley pulls off his face mask to reveal he's Budig's husband (AMC's Cameron Mathison).
Another spot has OLTL's David Fumero and Bree Williamson playing the game in a hot tub. In walks Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins, who gives Fumero a Vulcan nerve pinch and runs off with Bree.
The poinit of all this? Fantasy-baseball nuts usually don't start drafting their dream teams until closer to the start of the season (3/31). ESPN wants to goose interest now so fans will go to its Web site (espn.com/fantasy), where they'll find lots of fantasy-baseball features and draft advice from top experts.
"The commercials are really funny---I think there was only one take where I'm not laughing," says Budig, who wasn't laughing at that other promo campaign---the one where ABC rudely touted her return as "the real Greenlee" while another actress (poor Sabine Singh) was still playing the part. "It was horrible," says Budig of the PR blitz. "I felt an enormous responsibility and it wasn't my fault. I'm still taking flack for it!"
One of the promos has Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Utley playing a waiter who is serving a cheating wife (All My Children's Rebecca Budig) and her boyfriend (One Life to Live's John-Paul Lavoisier) as they play fantasy baseball. Utley pulls off his face mask to reveal he's Budig's husband (AMC's Cameron Mathison).
Another spot has OLTL's David Fumero and Bree Williamson playing the game in a hot tub. In walks Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins, who gives Fumero a Vulcan nerve pinch and runs off with Bree.
The poinit of all this? Fantasy-baseball nuts usually don't start drafting their dream teams until closer to the start of the season (3/31). ESPN wants to goose interest now so fans will go to its Web site (espn.com/fantasy), where they'll find lots of fantasy-baseball features and draft advice from top experts.
"The commercials are really funny---I think there was only one take where I'm not laughing," says Budig, who wasn't laughing at that other promo campaign---the one where ABC rudely touted her return as "the real Greenlee" while another actress (poor Sabine Singh) was still playing the part. "It was horrible," says Budig of the PR blitz. "I felt an enormous responsibility and it wasn't my fault. I'm still taking flack for it!"