Russell Becomes Unofficial Sponsor Of Minor League Mascot Underpants

Minor League baseball mascots have the hottest job in sports. All summer long they dance, sweat, and chafe in their synthetic fur. Though they’re in the Minors, these mascots suffer from Major League underwear funk. That’s the subject of a new documentary style campaign from Russell and its agency Barkley.

In a partnership with Minor League Baseball, Russell became the unofficial underwear mascot of mascots who hail from the hottest cities in America, offering them its odor-fighting FreshForce Performance Underwear.

The brand will release three documentaries featuring Chico the Chihuahua from El Paso, Cosmo from the Las Vegas 51s, and Orbit from the Albuquerque Isotopes. The first piece directed by British documentary filmmaker Andrew Lang from The Sweet Shop, brings the story of Chico to life.

Before shooting, Lang spent a week scouring El Paso to find a side of Texas not often seen, and brings the narrative to life with a quirky cast of real El Paso residents. From a car wash owner to a dog groomer, each character brings a unique solution that only leaves Chico with the same problem.

“The look and tone of the film is a combination combination of Nacho Libre and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly—only in this,  Chico gets his revenge on underwear funk,” says Berk Wasserman, Barkley Group Creative Director.

But Chico wasn’t the only mascot aromatically saved by Russell. The brand is also sending fifty other mascots in the form of “Mascot Relief Kits.” Adorned in fur that matches the undercarriages of the receiving mascot, the kits come with a pair of FreshForce underwear, a thermometer and a bottle of talcum powder.