Actor Michael Cera, right, shows Blue Jays veteran George Springer his live-stream in a recent Rogers advertising spot.Rogers
John Schneider, the Blue Jays manager, was asked early this year if he would participate in a national Rogers network campaign that features a handful of Toronto baseball players and stars the Canadian comedic actor Michael Cera.
On the day in March that his spots were shot, Schneider first entered a trailer that teemed with hair stylists and make-up artists. A minor-league catcher for a half-dozen years, he is broad and thick, not built like a speedster who goes from second to home in the blink of an eye.
“When I walked in there I thought, ’This is a little weird,’” Schneider said this week as he sat in the dugout before a game at Rogers Centre. “You know, I don’t wear make-up very often.”
As part of the campaign, a half-dozen commercials were filmed during spring training in Dunedin, Fla. The first aired on Sportsnet on March 27 to coincide with the opening game of the Blue Jays’ 50th-anniversary season. The campaign, which promotes Rogers’s wireless, internet and entertainment platform, will run into July.
Sportsnet is owned by Rogers Communications, as are the Blue Jays. The media conglomerate’s creative agency, Publicis, started working on the scripts in January. They rely heavily on Cera’s deadpan humour. Born and raised in Brampton, Ont., he is presented as a zealous Jays fan.
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It was all in a day or two’s work for him. But not so for Toronto’s manager and players. They are used to performing in major-league ballparks but this was definitely outside their comfort zone.
“I was a little nervous,” said George Springer, the designated hitter. “Michael Cera does this for a living, so you want to do it right and you don’t want to look like a fool.
“But he was awesome. Really chill. He did what he needed to do in his own sarcastic way.”
In his bit, Springer is interviewed by Cera as he live-streams from the Blue Jays locker room. Cera announces he just set a viewership record, at which point Springer responds by saying, “Oh, hey. Look at that! Eleven.”
Cera continues: “My old record was two.” And then exclaims, “I want to meet all of you.”
“Shouldn’t be that hard,” Springer quips.
“I made that part up myself,” he beamed this week as he stood in front of his dressing stall.
Still from the Rogers Xfinity 'Put me in coach' spot with John Schneider and Michael Cera.Rogers
Other than John Schneider and Springer, the ads include Dylan Cease, Ernie Clement, Kazuma Okamoto and Davis Schneider.
With the exception of Okamoto, who was featured in commercials when he played in Japan, it was a first-time sort of thing for them.
“I’ve never done any TV before and this is probably the most I’ll ever do,” said Davis Schneider, who plays part-time in the infield and outfield. “They put pancake-type stuff all over my face and worked on my hair.”
In Davis Schneider’s scene, he sits on a baseball-shaped bean-bag chair as Cera shows off his apartment and Rogers’s content being shown on six screens.
In his only line, Davis Schneider says, “Sweet setup.”
“They gave me two words,” he said. “It took me about 20 minutes.”
Terrie Tweddle, the chief brand and communications officer for Rogers, said this is the first time it has combined all of its assets to promote its variety of products.
“Rogers is transforming into a communications, sports and entertainment company, and this national campaign really brings this to life,” she said. “The centre of the story is our networks and our core connectivity business matched with our ownership of the Blue Jays and the wit of a beloved Canadian actor.
“The strategic value of our growing sports portfolio is even greater when you bring it together with our communications assets. This campaign brings the best of both to life in a fun, engaging way.”
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Cease, the club’s No. 1 starting pitcher, said he has never done anything like it.
“It was a little intimidating,” he said. “They put major-league make-up on me for sure. The whole process took probably four hours. They made it simple for me, feeding me one line at a time. Michael Cera made it easy.”
Okamoto, who the team signed as a free agent during the off-season, is glad he was asked to participate.
“It was early, only a little bit after I arrived, so I was a little nervous,” he said through his interpreter, Yusuke Oshima. “It gave me a chance to bond with the guys and get to know them more. It was really fun.”
John Schneider said he agreed to appear in the commercials because he saw them as an offshoot to the team’s long run to the World Series last year. The Blue Jays lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games in their first appearance in MLB’s championship series since 1993.
In one of his spots, John Schneider finds a shrine to himself in what is portrayed as a corner of Cera’s apartment. In the middle of the shrine there is a modem and above it Rogers content is shown on a half-dozen screens.
“As a baseball guy, I’m not used to being in a shrine,” Schneider said this week. “That was funny. The whole thing was funny.”
He survived wearing make-up and reciting his lines.
“It is amazing what technical people can do,” the manager said. “You say the same lines six or seven times in a row and when you see how they splice it together – it’s really cool.”