Get excited, Dodgers unveil new marketing slogan: ‘We Love LA’

Those clever Dodgers. Their spankin’ new marketing slogan for 2015 -- “We Love LA.”

See what they did there? It’s not “I Love LA” like in the song, but we love LA. Guess they wanted to save paying royalties to Randy Newman.

I have exactly zero idea how much an annual marketing slogan translates to actual team revenue, but suspect last year’s slogan -- “Live. Breathe. Blue.” -- didn’t have the faithful storming the Dodger Stadium gates. Besides, always read the first word as live like on television, the irony too great.

So now if you love LA, guess you really, really have to take in a game live. Suppose it beats the obvious slogan: “You Really Won’t Miss Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez.”

“Since 1958, the fans of Southern California have had a love affair with the Dodgers, our broadcasters and Dodger Stadium, and the feeling has been mutual,” said Dodgers Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Lon Rosen. “What better way to express our admiration to our fans for their overwhelming support than with this year’s slogan, ‘We Love LA.’ ”

I guess he means other than being able to actually watch the games on TV.

The Dodgers have played the Newman L.A. anthem after wins for several years now, but the whole idea of embracing it as a song of sports celebration actually originated with the Lakers back at the Forum in 1984.

An up-and-coming Lakers marketing wiz at the time? Lon Rosen. In the NBA Finals that year, the Celtics countered with T-shirts that showed the Celtic leprechaun with the words, “I Hate L.A.”

The “We Love LA” slogan debuted Friday, the LA interlocked as on the team cap.

Follow Steve Dilbeck on Twitter: @stevedilbeck.