Behind The ScenesMLB

ESPN Deportes unveils “Proyecto ABC: Arte, Béisbol, Cultura” in celebration of WBC 2017

As some of baseball’s most prominent players get ready to put on their national team uniforms to represent their respective countries competing in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, which begins play today, ESPN Deportes is unveiling a collection of 16 posters.

The posters, which are not for sale to general public, represent the 16 teams competing in the tournament. They also can be seen on ESPN.Com and ESPNDeportes.com.

Created by 16 artists, each representing a WBC country, “Proyecto ABC: Arte, Béisbol, Cultura,” captures how baseball is interwoven with culture and national pride. For more insight on this undertaking, Front Row caught up with Lucas Ferraro, manager, Consumer Marketing, ESPN Deportes and Andrew Thiele, of Artek Creative, curator of the project and participating U.S. artists.

How did this particular initiative come about and how were artists recruited?
Ferraro: The initiative came to life during a WBC 2017 brainstorming session. The goal of the project was to highlight the diversity and global influence of baseball through the lens of each unique artist. Artek Creative, a New York-based agency, managed the selective recruitment process.  


 
How will ESPN and ESPN Deportes incorporate this work into the television and other multi-platform productions?
Ferraro: The individual pieces and accompanying documentary style video will be featured on a dedicated digital landing page, during live broadcasts of the games and through our social media outlets.

How did you become involved in the project?
Thiele: I was extremely excited about this initiative because it infused two of my passions: sports and art. Through my work with ESPN Deportes, I have the opportunity to work on design, but rarely do you get the opportunity to reach out to other artists you respect and admire for a project of this magnitude.

How did you create the Team USA poster?
Thiele: I am an “old-school” baseball fan and I wanted to recreate some of those elements in my piece. I sampled and recreated images that reflect the country’s heritage and how our culture is interwoven with baseball.

“Proyecto ABC: Arte, Béisbol, Cultura” is part of the marketing campaign for the 2017 World Baseball Classic, which is anchored around national pride. It was developed by ESPN Deportes’ in-house marketing team.

Mario Plata, producer, On Air Promos, ESPN Deportes and Bonsai produced the video.

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