Carlsbad, CA, Thursday November 05, 2009
Over the past few months Upper Deck has been introducing collectors to some interesting characters through a series of print advertisements running in Beckett publications around its SPx brand. First they met the “Case-Breaker” in an ad touting 2009 SPx Football who is actually a loyal Upper Deck collector named Greg Casper from Ohio. Soon collectors will be introduced to the “Hit-Man” in an ad for 2009-10 SPx Hockey who is really an Upper Deck collector named R.C. Bessire from California.

Now Upper Deck and Beckett Media are looking for the face of 2010 SPx Baseball with an interactive competition among collectors of the brand. In the previous advertisements the collectors were given a unique name accompanied by five key points that best explained why they collected SPx. The Upper Deck collector who provides the most original name and five key copy points that call out the best features of 2010 SPx Baseball will be featured in the upcoming ad running in Beckett Baseball and Beckett Sports Cards publications. Not only will the person selected have their image included in the ad, but they will receive complimentary baseball product from Upper Deck as well.

“The SPx brand is a higher-end type of product that really focuses on the collector, so that’s who we wanted to highlight with these ads,” said Chris Carlin, sports marketing manager for Upper Deck. “We know our customers are very passionate about their collections and why they collect so rather than having an advertising agency try to capture why they collect SPx, we want to hear from them directly. We’re excited to see the response.”

Upper Deck’s 2010 SPx Baseball is going to be loaded with everything collectors have come to expect from the brand. Returning will be seven rookie exchange cards that allow Upper Deck to add autographed cards of 2010 rookie call-ups to the set. Boxes will include a combination of six autograph or memorabilia cards. And the design will continue to be cutting edge.

New to 2010 SPx Baseball will be the debut of the highly popular “Shadow Box” inserts. A special version of these cards called “Chase for 56” will feature an image of Yankee great Joe DiMaggio positioned in the background of a player who has made a legitimate attempt to break his 56-game hitting streak like Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins. Rare patch cards from Upper Deck’s 2010 Exquisite Baseball set can be found for the first time inside packs of 2010 SPx Baseball as well. Lastly, Upper Deck will be adding an insert update that pays homage to the legendary 2000 SPx Baseball set by including rookies who missed the initial cut like Johan Santana and Michael Young.

So if you collect SPx Baseball, what are you waiting for? This is your chance to be the poster boy, or girl, for 2010 SPx Baseball. To submit your entry, fill out the text missing in the 2010 SPx Baseball column below and email it to us along with a jpeg image of yourself at BSCM@beckett.com:

2009 SPx Baseball

Name: (collector submits)
I expect… (collector submits)
I… (collector submits)
I bust boxes for… (collector submits)
I… (collector submits)
I… (collector submits)
I make collecting history with every pack.
I collect SPx.

Since the experts at Beckett Media have the strongest knowledge of what advertisements work the best on their pages, they will select the top five entries and provide them to Upper Deck officials. The top five will be revealed on Beckett’s website (www.beckett.com) on Tuesday, November 17. Upper Deck will then select the winner from those five entries. The new face of SPx Baseball will be announced on Thursday, November 19, on Upper Deck’s Facebook page. A photographer will be dispatched to shoot the winner for the advertisement which will appear in magazines in January. Good luck to all entrants!




About Upper Deck
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