Nice Guys Finish First
What it really means to be a top competitor
The Dodgers have won six World Series titles and 21 National League pennants. Eight Cy Young Award winners have pitched for the Dodgers, winning a total of twelve Cy Young Awards. The team has also produced 12 Rookie of the Year Award winners, including four consecutive from 1979 to 1982 and five consecutive from 1992 to 1996.
But in 2011 a beating at Dodger Stadium left San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow brain damaged and disabled.
The Bureau Of Small Projects was engaged to bolster the damaged image of the LA Dodgers and show people what the team was all about. Exploring the long standing rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers, we decided to create a spot all about sportsmanship. Leo Durocher, the irascible former coach for the Dodgers coach coined the phrase “Nice Guys Finish Last” we decided to riff off of that and get to the heart of what it means to be a top competitor, what the Dodgers are really like and why “Nice Guys” actually finish first.
The spot was so well received that we decided to include it in the feature film Kindness Is Contagious. A film all about being nice and the benefits of being nice.
The documentary format, is much more cost effective than the traditional 30-second television spot and defies audiences’ short attention spans with content they’ll keep watching. With competition for consumer attention at an all-time high, story is what makes ads that people feel compelled to share. According to research, 92 per cent of consumers trust “earned” media – such as word-of-mouth messages or recommendations from friends and family – more than all other types of advertising.
