July 23, 2018

Montgomery Biscuits’ ‘Millennial Night’ Promo Sparks Backlash & Praise

The Minor League Baseball team offered participation ribbons, napping stations, selfie stations, Millennial-themed food and drink, and more.

By  Christopher Ruvo

In a Nutshell

*The promotion earned international attention, and was both panned and heralded.

*Held Saturday, Millennial Night was declared a success by the Biscuits.

Some called the promo a sad regurgitation of lame generational stereotypes that further alienated the very fan base the Montgomery Biscuits were trying to attract. Others loved what they perceived as a brilliant bit of screw-turning in the sides of what they feel are soft, over-sensitive Millennials. Still others saw it for what the Biscuits said they intended it to be: A tongue-in-cheek ironic take on the anti-Millennial criticism that abounds among older generations.

Call it how you like, but there’s one objective fact that the Biscuits will probably be happy with: Millennial Night won the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays a ton of attention in the U.S. and beyond, including coverage in Australia. Held at a Biscuits game on Saturday July 21st, the promotion featured various clichés associated with Millennials done as in-park offerings, including craft beer, award ribbons just for showing up, napping stations, selfie stations, and food with an air of implied Millennial pretention – i.e. avocado burgers and avocado biscuits.

Michael Murphy, VP of fan engagement for the Biscuits, told Fox News that Millennial Night was a success, saying that attendance was up. Murphy, a Millennial himself, and the rest of the Biscuits team went forward with the promotion even after receiving criticism earlier in July when it was announced. In fact, the Biscuits doubled-down on the Millennial-baiting in some of their Twitter posts in the lead-up to the event.

Naturally, Twitter was also replete with posts from people – Millennials and others – panning the promotion as tone deaf, inaccurate and stupidly playing into stereotypes. Relatedly, it fanned the flames of the generational culture wars, igniting no little amount of backlash from Millennials against Baby Boomers.

Of course, Millennial Night had its fans:

And, there were those who say they got the joke – that the Biscuits didn’t intend to castigate a generation, but rather poke fun at the stereotypes associated with the group and have a little fun.

So, what do you think? Was Millennial Night marketing gold or a promotional flop? Tweet me. As a Millennial, I’ll probably be napping in my safe space after washing down an avocado biscuit with a limited-release IPA, but I’ll hit you back eventually. Cheers ~