I’m still taking questions in today’s main post, but this came across my email and I wanted to bring it up. Seemed perfect for an off-day to note that the Cardinals are now getting into television.
Well, not television as we are used to it, but capitalizing on Phyllis Smith’s most prominent role (as Phyllis on The Office) and her noted Cardinal allegiance, the social media department of the club has used the new video capabilities of Instagram to create The Front Office, a #Nestflix original.
If you follow the Cardinals (@Cardinals on Instagram) you’ll see the 15-second videos featuring Smith, Fredbird and others to come (Jason Motte has made an appearance, for example). Here’s what the club says about it:
#TheFrontOffice Synopsis – Starring Phyllis Smith, Fredbird, the Rally Squirrel and an all-star cast from the Cardinals Front Office, this humorous “Mascots”mentary is directly from the nest of one of most iconic teams in baseball. After an early love affair during the team’s magical 2011 post season, Fredbird and the Rally Squirrel find themselves becoming bitter rivals and silliness ensues.
I can only imagine that the people involved with this had way too much fun putting it together. If the credits and pictures are to be believed, they’ve roped John Mozeliak, John Rooney and David Freese into this as well.
New episodes are going to be released daily and can only be seen on Instagram, at least to start with. I would expect eventually the Cards will put up episodes on their website or other places, but it may be a while for that. You can find the videos by following the Cards or searching Instagram for #TheFrontOffice or #Nestflix.
Major kudos to the social media team for this idea and the effort they’ve put into it. It’s something unique and fun and there’s no doubt there will be imitators all over baseball within a year or so. Be sure to check it out!