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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

How Upper Deck Can Thrive in 2010 - Part 2


So how the heck is Upper Deck going to sell cards without an MLB license anyway?

Ok, I've thrown out the obvious Retro idea already and I still have no clue how they can ceep their bease Upper Deck set together without it looking like garbage. It doesn't mean I'm out of ideas on how UD can make a splash in 2010. And with all good ideas, there's a little bit of borrowing involved.


Upper Deck has a license with the Players' Union so they can print up as many cards of Major League players as their heart desires. But they can't show any logos or the Laywers Shall Feast. Now how do you put together a good card set featuring players but where logos are not necessary. Something distinctive and attractive and unique in the market. I can think of a brand of cards that did that. A brand from loong loong time ago. This brand:


Upper Deck: STEAL STUDIO.

Donruss sure ain't doing anything with it. Hell, I don't think the ham-fisted designers over at Playoffnini could even pull off a set like Studio anymore. It's the perfect concept for cards that has to focus on people and not embroidered uniform adornments.





See? A couple of logos snuck through there, but you could kick 'em out and noone would notice. Of course, some Studio sets have logos as a central theme but Upper Deck doesn't need to steal mimic borrow pay homage to the exect design of one of those Studio sets, they can just use the concept of a well done artsy set that focuses on the player. Upper Deck hasn't had much luck borrowing designs lately anyway.

Upper Deck doesn't really need to steal the concept anyway, they had a pretty good set in '07 and '08 that was kind of artsy fartsy. Masterpieces, maybe you've heard of it? Turn it into a base set from of, ahem, studio portrait cards and then add in a subset/SP/insert set of art cards like the good 'ol Masterpieces we love so well and Upper Deck might just have a winner there. It's not like they haven't done this before...


Remember the Iooss Collection?


Perhaps the V.J Lovero showcase?

Upper Deck can do the exact same thing for a 2010 set. Hire a big shot photographer or even a bunch of 'em and feature their logoless photographs in a set. I hear Annie Leibovitz is looking to make some quick cash....

Note - I haven't had any time to check all the other blogs out there lately so if anyone else proposed this.... HAHA!!! I JUST STOLE IT!!! See how easy that is, Upper Deck?

8 comments:

Motherscratcher said...

As long as the backs still have wonderful information such as "Alex Cole's favorite movies are House Party I and II" I'm all for it.

I'm more than all for it, I demand it.

I demand that this be done.

Collective Troll said...

I had nothing this morning and I really wanted to post, so I totally stole yours, made it longer and unreadable, and bam! Another post.

Jeff Mazdra said...

The Iooss Collection is one of Upper Deck's best sub sets. I never did get all of them.

beardy said...

Studio was my favorite set from the few years right before I quit collecting as a kid. I was always into photography anyways and Studio always seemed sort of ironic and quirky, with those great factoids on the back.

I would totally buy this if Upper Deck made a set like it next year. They'd better not mess it up with and damn game used cards either. Autos only, and make them a fairly tough pull at that.

beardy said...

oh, and maybe some of those cards where they actually insert the film still. That would be cool too.

dayf said...

Troll: that's the spirit!!!

Jeff: I hardly got any of them, it took me a half hour just to find that Bagwell.

Laurens said...

I'm open to almost any alternative UD can come up with to produce baseball cards in 2010 sans the approval of MLB.

However collectors/bloggers would be bitching about how UD has cut corners and is putting out a set of cards that 'aren't real cards,' because obviously you need MLB logos to make them.

Dean said...

It will be interesting to see what they come out with, but I do not see how it can work on a large scale. I am afraid that this is the last round up for UD.