MLB's ‘Heroes Of The Game' Ad Campaign Is An Anime Thrill Ride

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With Opening Day for the 2025 MLB regular season kicking off on Thursday, the league continues to lean into Japanese culture with an anime ad campaign featuring the biggest stars in the league.

Featuring Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Paul Skenes as superheroes on a quest for the 2025 World Series title, the series leans into each player's skills in the most "anime" way with hyperstylized art, character cinematography with heavy pans, closeups and split screens. The campaign dovetails off the "Baseball is Something Else" brand campaign. MLB and Wieden+Kennedy partnered with Passion Pictures and Echelle Studios in Japan to create the series. The hero-driven ads in the series runs :75, :30, and :15.

Beyond television and online through MLB's various social media channels, there are also out-of-home digital video placements in Shibuya (Tokyo), Flannels Flagship Store (London), Museo Soumaya (Mexico City) and Times Square (New York). Still images from the new campaign will be displayed outside MLB Headquarters in New York on Thursday, March 27 to coincide with Opening Day around the league.

While the initial ads feature Ohtani, Judge, Soto, and Skenes, additional ads with other players are in the works and will be featured throughout the season.

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