The sign in center field is just above bleacher section 40, just waiting to be peppered with tape-measure home runs as part of the Jordan’s Furniture Monster Hit promotion.
So any home run that hits that sign during a game means free furniture for anyone who made a purchase before the deadline?
Well, no. Not every home run is eligible—just those hit by Red Sox players…after July 15.
OK, that’s fine—nobody wants free furniture because Ramon Ramirez threw a flat fastball to Carlos Pena. The Red Sox have actually shown a decent amount of power thus far in 2010. And the ball carries well to center during the summer at Fenway. Home runs occasionally glance off the back wall behind section 40 from time to time. And that’s right where the sign is located. There’s a chance!!
Just a second there, Lloyd Christmas. The free furniture thing is limited to homers that hit the small baseball printed on the left-hand side of the sign…(The fine print: The hit will not be considered “direct” if it caroms off another object or is touched by a fan before hitting the baseball on sign.)
Oh.
Based on available data from Hit Tracker Online, 186 home runs were hit at Fenway Park in 2009 (about 2.30 per game). One of those homers landed in the vicinity of the Monster Hit sign. In 2008, two home runs out of 147 would have had Jordan’s insurers holding their breath. In 2007: three of 148. In 2006: three of 156.
Some of these home runs probably wouldn’t have even appeared as close as Hit Tracker’s scatter plots suggest. Nevertheless, in the most charitable scenario, there is a 1-2% possibility that any given home run has a chance of making a dent somewhere on the sign based on data from the last four years (9 dongs out of a total of 637 hit). But the actual area taken up by the baseball itself is probably something like 5% of the total sign’s space. So in reality, the promotion is akin to a blindfolded shot from half court at a Celtics game where just hitting the backboard would be an impressive accomplishment.
But the trouble isn’t solely that the probability of a “Monster Hit” begins with a decimal point followed by a bunch of zeroes. It could happen. The more glaring reality is that Jordan’s is preying on the dumbest subset of fans by enticing them to bet on the likelihood of a player hitting a specific spot on a sign over 430 feet from home plate at Fenway Park. The possible reward should be more interesting than free second-rate furniture.
So what would be a better reward for customers who buy furniture at Jordan’s based on the possibility that it will be free if someone hits the target?
It has to be something equally as far-fetched. It should be interesting and rewarding for everyone involved. Not just for those who purchased sofas and loveseats. It should universally atone for all the aggravation the company will put NESN viewers through with its incessant advertising spots. It should offset the mental pressure it puts on David Ortiz—Does the slugger’s homerless psyche really need to have a tiny home run target as a backdrop in center field?
It should also punish Jordan’s Furniture for being unoriginal. This promotion is a watered-down version of MasterCard’s long-running sponsorship of targets at the MLB All-Star Game home-run derby event.
At the very least, that guy in their ads should have to cut off his ponytail so that Jade McCarthy and Heidi Watney can use it as a French tickler while enthusiastically hooking up on a memory foam mattress while Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy provide a play-by-play analysis on live television.
Fenway Pastoral 
Great post, David. Throw in that 2008 campaign where the Sox had to sweep the World Series before anything got handed out, and Jordan’s hasn’t exactly set Boston on fire with risky promotions. I’d settle for a free ride on their MOM if the Sox could pick up a clutch hit against the Yankees once in awhile.
I think the ponytail is a clip on now-a-days.
It will be a tough year with the “incessant” adds
I also heard an interview with “Mr. Ponytail” who said they would also have some “fans” sitting out there in front of the sign to try to deflect it if it heads that way. The rules state that nothing or no one can touch it before it hits the ball on the sign!
Whatever simmons, “Mr. Ponytail” wants a home run to hit the sign. Jordans already took out an insurance policy, so a home run off the sign would be big publicity like it was when the sox won the world series during the first promotion.
Wow – so much negativity. Buy furniture or don’t. There is a small, but real chance that people can get free furniture. It happened before, and it was an incredible deal for people who got it. Jordan’s gets credit for having a fun promotion. If you’re dumb enough to buy and speculate on the chance of getting free furniture, you were going to get swindled by someone else. Given the options of Bernie and Phyl’s, or Bob’s cheap furniture, I’ll go with “Mr. Ponytail.” He’s a good guy.
Just back from Jordans furniture in Nashua, NH. We bought a mattress last summer and signed up for the Monster Hit scam – not because I wanted to gamble on a 100% refund, but because of the 20% rebate applied at “the end of baseball season”. It turns out the rebate is a voucher that is good from the date of issue until January 6th, at which point it expires and has no value.
With a tight household budget due to Christmas expenses, we went to Jordans to convert to a in-store gift card to use on a future purchase (we intended to buy a new desk for our home office at roughly 3X the value of our credit). We were told this is not possible – the credit cannot be used for any purpose other than in-store purchase between date of receipt (Mid-October) and January 6th – roughly 80 days.
The worst thing about this scam is that it abuses good customers that have made a purchase (i.e. good customers). We’ll never do business with Jordans again. Ponytail dude seems so nice on TV – in reality, just a common scammer.
I’m sure they could have told you the conditions beforehand.
Coupons and vouchers never apply to gift cards in any scenario at any store. Jordan’s furniture is a decent store that treats their employees well. It’s not like you were ripped off.
Entertaining post. I’m from Australia and I’m doing a Marketing Case study on Jordan’s and their use/exploitation of the Red Sox Brand community around their marketing strategy for University. I don’t know much about Baseball but I know Boston is a pretty fanatical sports town. How do locals feel about Jordan’s being a major sponsor for the Sox? Do people care that much about the free furniture if they win the World Series or is it only when they need a new living room setting?