Target hopes ballpark 'Bullseye' sign will become Twin Cities icon
Apr 10, 2012 (Menafn - Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --At Target Field, baseball fans are getting a look at new players -- and one very large dog.
Target Corp.'s mascot dog, Bullseye, now graces a 37-foot-tall sign affixed to Target Center, overlooking right field at the Minnesota Twins stadium.
The lighted sign, installed in late March, features a wagging tail that is programmed to move at different speeds.
"At future games, Twins fans will see Bullseye getting in on the game," Target spokesman Antoine LaFramboise said. "Bullseye's tail will wag faster when the crowd gets louder. We don't have any information to share on timing, but this is set to happen sometime this season."
Last season, the same spot held a huge Sanford Health sign, which many fans disliked for intruding on the view of the Minneapolis skyline. The Twins were among the harshest critics, protesting the "disturbing" and intrusive sign.
The ballclub seems to have warmer feelings about the big dog.
"It would be my personal preference that there be no sign there," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. But he allows that the Bullseye sign has charm and might become popular as "an interactive, iconic sign that is truly part of the game-day experience."
"Time will tell," he added, "but there's a younger demographic of fans that will certainly enjoy that sign."
Besides, the Twins and Target Corp. are partners in Target Field and nearby Target Plaza.
"No partner has been more important to us than Target itself," St. Peter said.
The
Bullseye sign is the work of Target's internal creative team in Minneapolis, LaFramboise said, and was produced and installed by Maple Grove company Topline Advertising.
The dog is 37 feet tall and weighs more than 3,500 pounds. The sign lights up at night with LED lighting. Target officials hope the Bullseye sign will become a Minneapolis icon, like the historic signs for Grain Belt beer and Gold Medal Flour.
"The opportunity really was to create a fun, great sign that Twins fans would enjoy," LaFramboise said.
Tom Webb can be reached at 651-228-5428. Follow him at twitter.com/TomWebbMN.
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