Twins

Minnesota Twins

'21 Campaign

▒▒▒ Underestimate ▒ Us ▒▒▒

The Brief

We were tapped by the Minnesota Twins to craft a game-changing campaign for their 2021 season. The dynamic work defies Minnesota’s reputation as a second-tier market, or flyover state, turning outsiders' misconceptions of the Midwest into a challenge to “underestimate us at your own risk.” The Twins had a problem—and frankly, baseball has a problem—with a shrinking fan base. The goal was to connect with the next generation of fans, and get them to pay attention. The Twins had a second problem too: they didn’t have a partner who could work more dynamically and collaboratively, aligned with how they wanted to work.

Client ⎽ MN TWINS BASEBALL CLUB
Date ⎽ April 2021

Agency ⎽ Los York LA

Los York ®

▒▒▒▒ The Process

Route 001 ░ The Tc Hustle

Originally mill towns, the Twin Cities were founded on hard work, long days, and cold winters. But there’s more to our truth than the iconic work ethic that we are so often associated with. The Territory and the Twins not only represent that “get it done” mentality, but a commitment to excellence, to creativity, and to community. Every day that we take the field is another chance to show the world what we’re made of. To lean in. To put as much attention into winning as to how we get there. Our flex is effort. Our church is baseball. There’s a special magic in the way we attack every day. This is TC Hustle.

Route 002 ░ Underestimate us

When you look at us. You look past. You don’t see what we see. The potential. The power. The creativity. You don’t see the invisible bond connecting us. A bond that has been forged through cold winters and strengthened through sunny summer days. People don’t expect greatness from here. They call us small market and a flyover. But that’s ok. Keep looking past us. Cause every time you do, we just get a little stronger. After all Peter Parker is just a kid who got bit by a spider, right?

The above content was used only for showcasing our proposal and is of non-commercial use. Some of the photography work was not made by us.

The photos were used only for showing the brand concept and not for commercial use in any way.

▒▒▒▒ The Work

The dynamic work defies Minnesota’s reputation as a second-tier market, or flyover state, turning outsiders' misconceptions of the Midwest into a challenge to “underestimate us at your own risk.” We assembled an international team of 2D and 3D designers to tackle the project. Some were lifelong baseball fans and others had limited knowledge of the game—allowing us to break new ground while maintaining respect for the sport and its culture. Together we brought a sense of nostalgia (8-bit gaming) into a post-modern digital design future.

▒▒▒▒ The TONE

Our tone of voice is fun, playfully defensive, and straightforward. We’ll employ traditional CTA-type language, along with new phrases that have an edge and a sticky quality. To go along with our design language, we’re taking inspiration not only from baseball and the team, but from pop culture and gaming as well. The design language is all about the juxtaposition of what it means to be underestimated— the quiet knowing, contemplation and calm captured in the photography, along with frenetic noise and energy from the glitches, gradients and pixelation as our complementary elements. These opposing forces create a synergistic relationship, bringing high energy and simplicity together to create truly unique visuals.

▒▒▒▒ The TVC

The TV spot is about inventive design, powerful music and big emotion. The goal was to create a video and TV campaign that will set a new mark for MLB marketing. The campaign is all about showing how a Minnesota Twin has superhero-like abilities. We focused on capturing the strength, focus, and athleticism that it takes to be a Twins by using slow motion footage, and gave it spot energy and contrast by ramping it up at times.

▒▒▒▒ VERSION 001 ▒▒▒▒ 60 SECONDS TVC ▒▒▒▒

▒▒▒▒ VERSION 002 ▒▒▒▒ 30 SECONDS TVC ▒▒▒▒

▒▒▒▒ VERSION 003 ▒▒▒▒ 15 SECONDS TVC ▒▒▒▒

CREDITS ░ LOS YORK TeAM

CCO, Director: Seth Epstein
ECD: Scott Hidinger
COO: Thomas Simmons
Executive Producer, LY Studio: Melina Osorino-Andrade
Head of Production: Mariel Sands
Producer: Brian Keegan
Senior Copywriter: Morgan Parfrey
Senior Art Director & Design Lead: Laura Pol
Creative Designer: Radu Pose
3D Generalist: Rolando Berry
3D Generalist: Dorian Gourg
2D/3D Animation Design Lead: Peiter Hergert
2D/3D Generalist: Matthew Lawless
2D Animation & Design: Ha Eun Chang
2D Animation & Design: Adam Linden
Editor: Jay McConville
Assistant Editor: Garret Mcdonald
Colorist: Emma Blackman
Mix & Sound Design: Grey Ghost
Sound Music Supervisor: Maxwell Gosling