17 September 2008
Whose Shoes? Your Shoes. What Shoes? Big Shoes.
Posted by admin under: recruitment .
Because it is near me, I found interesting this story in Marketwatch about the Los Angeles Area Council for Boy Scouts of America honoring Russell Martin, the catcher for the L.A. Dodgers. Apparently the LAAC has an advertising campaign aimed at informing billboard viewers that Boy Scouts grow up to be great people like Martin with the catch phrase “We Fill Big Shoes”.
I went to Scout day at Dodger stadium with my Cub Scout pack (Dodgers slaughtered the Diamondbacks to take first place in the National League West), but I didn’t hear anything about this advertising program or really even Scouting that day. I’m glad to hear that the BSA is actively promoting the Boy Scouts, but I’m disappointed that I haven’t seen any evidence of it around town.
However, I did find an old article in the Daily Breeze talking about it for further background. I hope the program has been successful.
One odd note, though. Both stories promote the statistic that 60% of Los Angeles youth are below the poverty line, but I can’t find anything to support this assertion. 60% seems like a gigantic figure, especially considering the population of L.A. I’m skeptical and that makes me feel bad since it was a BSA official who made the claim. If you know where they got this figure, please let me know. Thanks.
- Los Angeles Dodgers Love Girl Scouts
- BSA McWebsite
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- Channel Your Inner Ad Exec
- Boy Scouts Find Football Fans
2 Comments so far...
Dan - Scouting News Says:
17 September 2008 at 4:45 pm.
You are right the 60% seems very very high. According to the NCCP, in California only 42% of children (0-18) are considered “low-income” (below twice the federal poverty guidelines), with only 18% considered “poor” (below the federal poverty guidelines). I highly doubt the population in poverty in Los Angeles is going to be that much higher than the state’s average.
Though reading both stories fully… The statistic in the “Daily Breeze” article states that 60% of Los Angeles Area Scouts live at or below poverty. That I can believe especially if they have a strong Learning for Life program that would fit great in such an urban population. LFL skewers a lot of data and is a really easy program to manage, its great for grant writing…
The quote in the Press Release comes from the ad agency’s Creative Director, who probably misspoke.
admin Says:
18 September 2008 at 6:59 pm.
I sent an e-mail to the LAAC media contact person asking about it, but I haven’t heard back. I might have to break down and actually call them.
