Gillette adds twist to Gillette Home Run Derby
BOSTON — Procter & Gamble’s Gillette brand has announced a twist to this year’s Gillette Home Run Derby, which could push the final charitable donation to be the highest in the history of the event.
The event will be held Monday on ESPN at 8 pm Eastern time. Charitable donations have long been a staple of the Home Run Derby as each home run triggers a donation to be made by the sponsor and Major League Baseball. Charitable recipients include Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the MLB Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program.
This year, two LED “Hit It Here” targets featuring the #FlexBall razor image will be placed at Target Field; one in left-center and the second in right-center field. If either target is hit during the Gillette Home Run Derby by one of the Home Run Derby participants, there will be a one-time incremental donation of $300,000 from Gillette, which could push the final donation amount to a level above the record of $615,000 set in 2012.
This new element is in addition to a custom orange baseball (or #FlexBall) that will be introduced toward the end of each participant’s at-bat. For each orange #FlexBall home run hit by a participant throughout the Gillette Home Run Derby, Gillette and Major League Baseball will combine to donate $10,000 to designated charities. Gillette and MLB will combine to make an additional donation of $5,000 for every non-FlexBall home run hit throughout the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby.
“Gillette is thrilled to celebrate 75 years as a Major League Baseball sponsor and to be the title sponsor of this year’s Home Run Derby and support two great organizations — Boys and Girls Club of America and the MLB RBI program,” stated Hooman Shahidi, senior brand manager of Gillette North America. “Because our newest razor, the Fusion ProGlide with FlexBall Technology provides maximum contact* to get virtually every hair, we’re upping the ante for the players by challenging them to achieve maximum contact with the ‘Hit it here’ #FlexBall razor targets and trigger a possible record breaking charitable donation.”
The #FlexBall razor targets are just one of many ways Gillette is celebrating its newest razor during the MLB All-Star Week events. On Monday, Gillette is hosting the first-ever #FlexBall Grooming Lounge that will sit center stage between the #FlexBall razor targets, on the centerfield concourse at Target Field. This lounge will be open to all fans that are in the ballpark during the event. All are invited to stop by and enjoy a shave with the new razor before and during the Gillette Home Run Derby. In addition, fans visiting T-Mobile All-Star FanFest during MLB All-Star Week will have an opportunity to take a swing at an orange #FlexBall when they stop by the Gillette Home Run Derby attraction, where fans can try to win select prizes such as tickets to the Gillette Home Run Derby, Gillette product coupons, and more.
Leading-up to and during the Gillette Home Run Derby, fans can also engage with @Gillette and @MLB on Twitter using #FlexBall and #HRDerby to receive select giveaways and the latest updates.
The new FlexBall Technology handle moves, adjusts and pivots in 3D to meet the contours of a man’s face to get virtually every hair. This first of a kind razor uses the same Fusion ProGlide cartridges. Manual and power versions of the Fusion ProGlide with FlexBall Technology are available. Fans can subscribe to Gillette’s best shave for around $1 per week at Gillette.com.
The 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby will be held Monday at Target Field in Minneapolis, home of the Minnesota Twins, and televised live on ESPN beginning at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. In addition to coverage on ESPN, it will be broadcast live on ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN and ESPN Radio in the U.S. as well as ESPN International. It also will be streamed live on MLB.com and via the MLB.com At Bat app.