Pope-on-a-Rope is divine inspiration

Blame the post office. That's what The Dugout is doing.

Loyal visitors have been asking to see the Pope-on-a-Rope giveaway from Saturday's Charleston RiverDogs/Rome Braves game. For those who missed it, here is the write-up from the Promotion of the Day feature on the main MinorLeagueDugout.com site.

Charleston can always be counted on for some “free-thinking” promos, but the RiverDogs staff has outdone itself with this one. In honor of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the U.S. next week, the RiverDogs are giving away a most extraordinary Soap-on-a-Rope to 1,000 fans. Emblazoned on the soap is a picture of His Eminency. The RiverDogs are hoping the giveaway will entice the pope to visit Charleston, which is known as the Holy City. At the very least, the giveaway may help fans wash their sins away.

The pope soap on said rope finally arrived in the mail today and is even cooler than expected (see photo). It smells reasonably good – somewhere between church incense and urinal cake – and the image quality is better than expected.

Major, major, major kudos to the Charleston folks, especially Jim Pfander. Calling the RiverDogs offices is, without fail, a highlight of any day. Can’t even imagine how much fun those creative meetings are.

Don’t think it would be too cool? Next time you are in meeting at work, try working the phase “pope on a rope” into the conversation. Or ask youself "What would Chuck Norris do?" - a promotion planned for later in the year. Now imagine doing it and not having your coworkers try to get you fired or committed.

No idea is taboo in Charleston. Remember, this is the same club that a decade ago offered to give away a vasectomy on Father’s Day. A RiverDogs representative said that stunt caused the bishop of Charleston to cancel his season tickets.

The Vatican didn’t issue a statement about the giveaway. News services in the Charleston area didn’t report any protests. People around Charleston accepted this promotion for what it was: good, clean fun.