It’s the start of baseball season, which means the players are back on the diamond for America’s pastime.
It also means that equipment managers are back to work, handling sweat-stained, stinky jerseys and laundry for athletes.
A new addition to the equipment manager ranks is former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez, who steps into the role as part of a marketing campaign launched by Lysol this week.
In support of Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, an offering from the well-known Reckitt Benckiser brand, Rodriguez is taking on the challenge of dirty laundry in a hands-on way.
In the minute-long The Lost Bet spot, Rodriguez swaps positions with Mike, an equipment manager, to deal with piles of smelly socks, jerseys and pants.
After detailing how the product is 99.9% effective at eliminating odor-causing bacteria, he begins to embrace his newfound calling as an equipment manager. That is until Mike returns and realizes how hard it is to be a baseball coach for little kids.
The ad, which was produced by creative agency Hunter, concludes by mentioning that Lysol is an official sponsor of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA.)
In addition to the ad — which is running on YouTube and Instagram — Lysol is sponsoring the AEMA by way of Stink Steward Stipends, which equipment managers can use for their membership fees.
“Equipment managers tackle piles of dirty laundry for their teams each day to keep everyone playing and feeling their best,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “I know first-hand the work that equipment managers put into a team, and that’s why I’m partnering with Lysol to celebrate their off-the-field efforts that allow players to be their best on-the-field.”
Rodriguez has kept busy since his retirement from baseball in 2016, including as a health brand spokesperson.
Last year, he participated in the Cover Your Bases campaign to foster a greater understanding of gum disease detection in the Hispanic community for Bausch Health’s OraPharma brand.
The Last Bet is also another example of how Lysol has taken a playful approach to its advertising over the past few years.
Last summer, it debuted Lysol Air-aoke, a campaign featuring actress and singer Christina Milian and musician SidClusive. Hunter also assisted on that project in addition to agency partners like MRM, McCann, Zenith and Encore.
“Lysol Laundry Sanitizer is an essential for sports players and families alike to kill odor-causing bacteria on their laundry and leave clothes smelling fresh,” stated Nicole Lopez, head of research and development operations North America, hygiene at Reckitt Benckiser.
