...Was Company Town on Thursday. I went into the Echo Park Avenue branch of Bank of America to visit a teller - I've always wondered, a "teller" of what, tall tales? -- and I was surprised to see not a single teller or desk man/desk woman in their usual business attire. Instead, each and every one of them wore a Dodgers shirt of some variety. T-shirts, player's uniform-style gray shirts. All Dodgers.

Of course, I had to ask: "Why are every single one of you who work here at the Echo Park branch of Bank of America wearing Dodgers shirts today?" I was hoping to hear something insane like but truthful along the lines of, "We're all huge Dodgers fans, and we just all made the same fashion choices this morning in the privacy of our bedroom closets."

I got a different answer. It turned out the company/ was using its employees' bodies (as well as their dignity) to market a Dodgers/BOFA financial product: A credit card (MasterCard). My teller said all the branches, all over Los Angeles, were doing the same. (I'm assuming they're not doing it in San Francisco.)

It gives new meaning to card-carrying fandom. Or giving it up for the Dodgers.

As for this particular BOFA branch, some of you may know it is housed in one of the oldest buildings in Echo Park, recently named a historic cultural landmark thanks to the Echo Park Historical Society.