OT - NHL opens door to ads on jerseys
The NHL signed a deal with Adidas, and not to make this another post about apparel companies, the money shot is that this purportedly opens the door to on-jersey ads.
Ugh.
http://www.tsn.ca/talent/adidas-lands-nhl-jersey-deal-1.346839
“If you’re already deciding on a major NHL jersey overhaul, maybe with Adidas striping on the jerseys, then it seems like it would be a good time to introduce the ads, if you plan to do it anyway,” a league source told TSN.
August 18th, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^
Well then why not create something to even them up in temrs on revenue, eh?
#Smart
#Business
August 18th, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
Because NHL sweaters generally have a following and lots of fans purchase those sweaters. You would kill a good portion of the emotional attachment to the team if you litter the jerseys with ads. This would be a very DB thing to do.
August 18th, 2015 at 5:01 PM ^
International hockey is littered with ads. See any of the pictures here:
http://www.iihfworlds2015.com/
But I'm fairly certain you can still buy a Team Canada jersey without the beer and car logos on them.
August 18th, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^
Teams shouldn't be rewarded that suck at drafting and developing players. Strategy in free agency and drafting is part of the game and the teams that aren't good at it should try to improve themselves rather than rely on handouts. It's a very modern day American thing to do and I think it STINKS!
August 18th, 2015 at 4:07 PM ^
For Mike Illitch there is no"extra revenue." He wants all the revenue he can get and will lead the charge to ads on hockey sweaters and pants. Just check out the JLA - there is not one spot that is not for sale for an ad.
August 18th, 2015 at 5:23 PM ^
There's a big difference between having ads on arena boards, ice etc... and ads on the iconic winged wheel. You're wrong about Ilitch. He has actually fought to preserve the classic and historic look of the Wings/Tigers uniforms even in an era when other teams (Pistons going teal, Lions adding black) are changing their uniforms or adding alternate jersey designs.
http://www.icethetics.co/blog/2014/11/6/nhl-exec-declares-advertising-is-coming-to-uniforms
I'm with Icethetics on this one. There is a reason fans of terrible teams make a statement by throwing their sweater on the ice...because that sweater is supposed to mean something. If the NHL (or any other league) sees it fit to monetize that tradition then they ought not be surprised when the rest of their traditions start falling by the wayside.
August 18th, 2015 at 10:17 PM ^
Actually Ilitch, not long after buying the Tigers, had their logo changed to this dumb thing:
He also allowed the road uniforms to become something like the Cleveland Indian uniforms, with awful shoulder stripes.
The franchise quietly dropped this logo and eventually changed its road uniforms, though it still refuses to bring back the classic '80s logo and is sticking with the script road uniform instead of the block letter one the franchise wore for 30 years prior to Ilitch's takeover.
Ilitch also allowed Tiger Stadium to go to pot and lobbied for a new stadium, then sold its naming rights.
I respect him for spending what it takes to win, but to call him some kind of careful steward of tradition doesn't fit the evidence.
August 18th, 2015 at 11:50 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^
If one NHL franchise goes for this, eventually all 30 will. The chance to make a quick buck is too tempting for owners.
August 18th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
The torch and pitchfork backlash the Original Six and any of the other self-respecting teams would face would be huge. Maybe Arizona or the Panthers or whoever do it, but pull that shit in Montreal or Detroit or Toronto and there will be a revolt.
August 18th, 2015 at 2:14 PM ^
Not at first. But eventually it will happen. Here's how it will go:
In the first year of advertising, only the crappy Sun Belt franchises will go for it. Everyone will laugh at how ugly their uniforms are.
But the next year, an Original Six owner/GM will justify advertising, saying that it's essential for competitive balance, and that otherwise, ticket prices will have to be increased further* to bring revenues in line. He will point out that he just signed Player X to a big contract, and he'd just love to sign more great players like him to bring a championship to the fans, who of course are the greatest in the world.
Naturally, at first, he'll promise only "discreet" advertising, maybe only on the back of the sweater, and in the team's colors. Mock renditions will be shown and compliant members of the local media will go on the air to say "It's not that bad." Enough fans will be won over to the argument that it'll go ahead.
A few years later, the ad wil get much larger and won't be in the team's colors. "But it'll never be in the front" becomes the new promise. A few years after that it will be in the front. As the fanbase becomes progressively desensitized, the advertising will become more and more blatant.
The important thing is for the NHL not to allow it at all. Opening the door for one franchise is too many.
*Of course, they'll quietly increase anyway.
August 18th, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^
I agree the NHL should have stepped in, but each of the O6 designs date back at least eighty years and are something fans take a lot of pride in. Colorado or Philadelphia or Pittsburgh selling out jersey space would seem like a huge capitulation if the O6 wouldn't go there.
Maybe I'm wrong, but with the importance of the actual sweater in fan culture I just can't picture any of the upper crust teams going that direction. I'd even guess a "keep my patch of the jersey" sponsorship would be more attractive to businesses in Toronto or Detroit.
August 18th, 2015 at 10:00 AM ^
It's the way of the world.
If you don't like it, boycott the company that puts ads on jerseys to show them the fans don't appreciate it.
People don't fully understand how powerful the money in thier pocket is. It's just about the only power you have left. /nopolo
August 18th, 2015 at 10:09 AM ^
Everybody complains, yet they still sell a ton.
August 18th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
Yes, boycott the company. Don't buy or use anything from them. Make them go out of business. You do understand that we collectively own (through stocks) and keep companies going (through purchase of thier wears) every company, right?
If say McDonalds plasters the golden arches on the Lions helmet, and you dont approve, dont ever go there again. Tell your friends not to go. Tell them to tell thier friends not to go. Use social media to tell McDonalds that if they dont remove thier logo that very few people in Detroit or Michigan will eat at McDonalds again. I bet you it goes away.
August 18th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
For a company as huge as McDonald's, forget it. A boycott like that would only seriously affect a small, local company - not the kind that would likely advertise on a pro sports uniform.
Anyway, it would hardly matter because some other company would just replace it on the uniforms. The leagues themselves need to not open the door to advertising in the first place.
August 18th, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^
I completely disagree.
"Forget it." Why?
Because you don't fully realize the value of your buying power?
You control way more than you understand with the choices you make on where to spend your money. Your buying discretion controls a great many things. Use it wisely.
August 18th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
You're looking at this at too micro of a level. In big-time sports, companies advertise on uniforms to reach a national, if not global, audience. Above all, they want their logo to get on TV.
Chevrolet isn't spending a fortune on Manchester United jersey ads because it has a particular interest in the northwestern England market. It's doing it to get its logo all over the world, which it does whenever they are broadcast on TV. (They also enjoy the fact that anyone who wants to buy a Man U jersey becomes a walking billboard for them.)
For your boycott idea to work, you'd basically need the entire U.S. and Canada to boycott McDonald's, and that's not happening. A downturn in one market in Michigan doesn't matter to them in the big picture, especially if the greater visiblity from the ad boosts them elsewhere. If you notice, there is no shortage of companies looking to advertise on sports uniforms. The potential upside in visibility is huge.
August 18th, 2015 at 10:25 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
Yes.
It's overly simplistic to say they wouldn't do it if it didn't work, but they wouldn't do it if it didn't work.
I've always said that good ads don't get me to buy stuff, but bad ones definitely get me to avoid stuff. But all the data say that either I'm in a severe minority, or I'm wrong and just don't consciously do it. I've been with a number of large companies and seen the data before and after big ad pushes, and seen the results. Good or bad, it works.
August 18th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
You mean Hockey Night in Canada? Phew...
August 18th, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
I'm not sure of that. Even casual fans have grown up accustomed to no advertising of uniforms; the great majority will find it tacky. And remember that in Canada, the NHL is practically a religion.
August 18th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^
The CHL has plenty of advertising on their uniforms. I doubt the decision will be based on what Canadians think though, only a handfull of teams and like you said it's a religion, they will watch regardless.
If the NFL did it nobody in America would think twice about watching/attending.
The NHL has some great uniforms, that's really the biggest hurdle to all of it. I'd imagine teams like the Wings will be offered the chance to minimize the impact of a logo, maybe sticking with a red/white company like state farm or molson.
August 18th, 2015 at 4:37 PM ^
The NHL is a whole different animal from the CHL. Read the comments in any Canadian newspaper on this news item and they are 90-95% opposed to advertising. They want to keep their NHL sweaters "pure".
August 18th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
I get why the WNBA and like Tier 3 Czech Hockey League teams do this: they have no fans and no revenue so they take what they can get. The NHL would just make a bunch of solid unis look like trash for a marginal increase in overall revenue
August 18th, 2015 at 12:14 PM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 12:42 PM ^
This is something I hate about European sports. Keep the big four leagues' uniforms ad-free. They already take a million commercial breaks in every broadcast. They can get by.
August 18th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
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August 18th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
August 18th, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
Big Mike and Marian will be all over this. Can't wait to see the winged wheel on the tip of spear of the Little Caesar topped by pepperoni.
August 18th, 2015 at 4:23 PM ^
