Cuban Revealed as Card Geek

Nov 21 2005 10:51AM

The Mark Cuban Card Geek ad was publicly unveiled last Saturday night prior to the Detroit Pistons versus Dallas Mavericks game at American Airlines Center. The Mavericks owner and card collector was visibly impressed by the ad and stated that he was very excited to be a part of the Be A Card Geek program. Following the unveiling Cuban and Beckett CEO Peter Gudmundsson flipped trading cards into a Mavericks hoop in front of a sizable crowd of fans that had gathered on the concourse to witness the festivities. The enlarged poster of the Mark Cuban ad was incorporated into the pre-game telecast on UPN and Cuban requested to keep the poster for his personal collection.

Additionally, as part of the Be A Card Geek event 1,000 card collecting kits were distributed at the game. The kits consisted of folders and trading card sets from the NBA and recent copies of Beckett Basketball magazine.

"The idea behind the campaign is very simple. The ads say that no matter who you are, or how successful you become, if you're a sports fan, you probably collected cards as a kid and part of you wishes you still did. Mark Cuban is a prime example. He grew up collecting cards and still enjoys the hobby," said Peter Gudmundsson, president of Beckett Media, who spearheaded the idea of an industry campaign. "The ads tap into everything that's good about collecting - heroes, the thrill of the chase, wholesomeness, the idea that collecting is handed down from generation to generation and, most importantly, the fun of it all. It also promotes the hobby to young kids who may be influenced to start collecting if they know their sports heroes think it's cool to be a ‘card geek.'"

The first wave of advertisements, which have already begun running in selected national publications, features sports stars such as the NBA's Carmelo Anthony, the NHL's Mike Modano, MLB's Mark Teixeira and the NFL's Lito Sheppard. Additionally, NHRA 13-time world champion John Force has been added to the Card Geek stable. Future ads will feature not only star athletes, but entertainers, collectibles industry leaders and other pop culture icons.

So far the program has received support from such leading trading card manufacturers as Topps, Upper Deck and Donruss; industry publishers Beckett Media and F&W Publications; and all the major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL) have supported the campaign.