A Bar Divided Cannot Stand

This 2012 commercial series “Chicago vs. Chicago” from New Era caps depicts Nick Offerman and Craig Robinson at the Dividing Line, a local Chicago sports bar, trading insults about their respective baseball teams and the baseball institutions, but it’s only when Craig insults their city (and its pizza) that he apologizes, and a truce of sorts is reached (until parts 2, 3, and 4 of the series).

Spatial racism that originally segregated Chicago during the Great Migration is seen here, where a white man (Nick Offerman) is a Cubs fan and a black man (Craig Robinson) is a south side of Chicago White Sox fan. The target markets (white Cubs fans and black White Sox fans) are clearly identified for New Era caps, and the camera positioning crops both men at the bar counter, so the New Era hats are always in the focus of the frame. These caps are how Nick and Craig construct their identities to engage in an age-old city baseball rivalry (despite an implication already given racially—this confirms it). This is evidenced particularly well when Nick draws attention to his New Era hat, by pointing and directing Craig’s (and the audience’s) gaze at his team hat: “See this ‘C’? It stands for Chicago. All you got on your hat is a stocking—something puppies like to chew on for recreation.” This kind of light antagonism is powerful both for Cubs fans (reaffirms their commitment to their city and their team) and White Sox fans (as it attacks their logo, team, and masculinity, so they would be more inclined to wear the stocking proudly as an act of resistance—which harkens historically to black pride/freedom struggles). Nick further demonstrates his masculinity and that of the Cubs when he quips, “Cubs are the strong foundation from which grows a mighty beast.”

This face off is in the same vein as 2011’s New Era hat commercial featuring another fantastic NBC Thursday night programming character feud: John Krasinski (The Office) and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) displaying the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry. This commercial is great for fans of Parks & Recreation and The Office, as Nick and Craig stay true to their character constructions of Ron Swanson (mustache and deadpan) and Darryl Philbin (quick insults and in a part 3 of the Chicago vs. Chicago series, he sings), so there is crossover appeal, transitioning Nick and Craig almost into opinion leaders.

The commercials also have social media support, as displayed by the #NewEraRivals in the bottom right corner of the frame.

[lizz wilkinson.]