Ads on uniforms? Discuss the pros and cons

Submitted by yossarians tree on

Don't see this topic on the board but if so please delete.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/nba-to-allow-ads-on-jerseys-1460737136

It happens in other sports, notably auto racing, soccer, etc., and frankly I'm surprised its taken this long for major U.S. sports teams to put corporate logos on jerseys. And now that the cat's out of the bag I'm sure this will become the norm very soon.

Personally I don't like it, and while I'm quite comfortable with the tenets of capitalism, I am also struggling with WHY I don't like it. I guess the purist in me just doesn't like the iconic uniforms like the Old English "D", the pinstripes, the winged wheel, etc. to be muddied up with "Yum Yum" logos. Also, the naive little boy inside me wants to believe that the teams we root for belong to the community and not IBM.

And while we must acknowledge that all team uniforms already have apparel logos on them, let us at least agree that we will NEVER see some corporate shill logo on the maize 'n blue.

SAMgO

May 17th, 2016 at 1:02 PM ^

We don't even have ads in the Big House, and the uniforms are considerably more sacred. This will never happen at Michigan.

Leaders And Best

May 17th, 2016 at 1:13 PM ^

The team is wearing jerseys, cleats, and gloves manufactured by Nike. Allstate, Meijer, Dr Pepper, and PNC Bank do not make athletic apparel. And the swoosh is relatively small compared to the advertisements on jerseys that allow them.

Alton

May 17th, 2016 at 1:33 PM ^

Clothing has had visible manufacturers logos going back at least to the '30s.  This is a discussion about something different:  logos that are not related to that particular piece of clothing or equipment.

 

Avon Barksdale

May 17th, 2016 at 1:03 PM ^

Pros - none

Cons - They look ridiculous. They are redundant. They help sell products in absolutely NO way. They serve no purpose other than increasing the price of the company's goods since they paid the athlete/team for the sponsorship.

Avon Barksdale

May 17th, 2016 at 1:10 PM ^

I spent probably $50,000 less than you on a college degree and had six job offers at graduation (three in my field and three out of my field). You would be surprised what you can accomplish in this world with a little common sense and a tenacious work ethic.

ijohnb

May 17th, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^

sorry, I know this is not my argument really but what in the actual hell does your first point have to do with your second.  Are you arguing that because you had quite a few job offers when you graduated college that mass marketing of consumer products in ineffective?  Huh?

In reply to by ijohnb

LJ

May 17th, 2016 at 1:17 PM ^

I think the point was that he didn't waste 50k on one of them fancy schmancy college degrees and he's still doing okay.  Which, cool man.  Great.

In reply to by ijohnb

Avon Barksdale

May 17th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^

My good friend LJ was being a smart ass so I thought I would be one back. No harm, no foul. But let's be real: you are a special kind if you watch Nascar and see a Mt. Dew sticker and suddenly think, "Boy, I better race out and get me a 24 pack of dews."

In reply to by ijohnb

lbpeley

May 17th, 2016 at 1:45 PM ^

Citrus K, Mello Yello and Mountain Holler don't taste the same as each other or Dew. You're sure you're only grabbing Dew because Dick Cole Earnhardt Wallace Trickle has it on his stock car?

Winchester Wolverine

May 17th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

He's saying that Mountain Dew is plastered all over the place. It MUST be a quality product if the markerters can afford to advertise it all over. I know this isn't necessarily true, but I understand what ijohnb is saying. Advertising works more on a subconscious level than anything else.

In reply to by ijohnb

Yo_Blue

May 17th, 2016 at 4:13 PM ^

All I know is that sometimes uniform design / marketing is effective if it makes you think or, or desire something.  The Columbia Women's Cycling uniforms work for me.

ijohnb

May 17th, 2016 at 1:08 PM ^

do think they help to sell products.  It may not be that somebody sees a Kraft ad on a uniform and immediately makes some Mac and Cheese, but Kraft will jump to the front of their mind the next time they are shopping for some.  If advertising such as this did not work companies would not spend very large sums of money to do it time and time again.

In reply to by ijohnb

schreibee

May 17th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^

Man, i only clicked on this thread because it was a discussion about what merits or Pros the uni ads may have for the fan/consumer - which is ZERO.

I didn't know it was gonna devolve into a discussion of the theoretical merit of the ads to the advertisers - Who gives a dusty Fuck about that?!?!?!?

Fhshockey112002

May 17th, 2016 at 1:14 PM ^

The $80m a year that ManUnited and the Glazers are getting from General Motors is exactly why big name teams (and small ones also) can generate more revenue than any down turn in jersey sale. The owners know fans will always buy jerseys, how many of us will be buying the new Nike jersey this fall? Now a small portion may not buy a jersey with a sponsor logo, but no nearly enough to stop them from taking the major pay day.  

Look at a team like Leicester City their current kit sponsor is the team owners... You don't think after their storybook season they won't sign a huge deal with a sponsor to help them spend to remain competitive. They likely will lose many players but if they get $30-50m a year for putting a company on the front of their jersey they likely can re-sign some of their best players.

TrueBlue2003

May 18th, 2016 at 2:22 AM ^

Brands and advertisers are a huge reason college football is different (better) than college baseball or any other non-revenue sport, right? If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be able to watch Michigan Football on television.  BUT, the length and frequency of commercial breaks are EXCRUCIATING.  With that and tempo causing  televised college football games to last nearly 4 hours for only about 20 - 30 minutes of actual football, the game experience is suffering.

We're in the stands too long waiting way too long for the breaks to conclude.  This is a huge reason we're losing students and attendence.  The television to in-stadium experience is tipping too far towards television because of the ungodly long games, and we're losing fans altogether.

Soccer is able to have games without (or with very few) commercial breaks in part because of logos on jerseys. I can ignore logos on jerseys.  It would be horrible at first, but if it reduced the commercial break time by 30 min per game, I think I'd take it. I can't ignore the long pauses in the game.

Sports

May 17th, 2016 at 1:04 PM ^

Apparel companies plaster everything with their logos, so it already exists. I'm fine with it. It doesn't affet the quality of the experience for me. I just can't seem to get worked up over this. 

Gameboy

May 17th, 2016 at 5:28 PM ^

I really don't care about ads on pro uniforms. It makes no difference to me while I am watching the game.

But I will never ever buy a Man U jersey. I own several World Cup jerseys. But I see no point in paying to advertise your stuff on my chest. If Chevy gave away the jerseys, sure, but I don't pay to advertise for someone else.

ST3

May 17th, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^

I start associating the team with the advertisement on the jersey. For example, I don't call LA's professional soccer team the LA Galaxy. To me, they are the Herbalife team.

WeimyWoodson

May 17th, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^

Pro's for the owners; makes the billionaires more more

Cons; looks tacky

But plenty of other sports do it now, so they will as well.  Why would they want to make less money?  

I'm just waiting for these greedy corporate cable compaines to start charging for Internet usage like cell phone companies do....just takes a few to do it and then everyone is stuck with that system.  Come to think of it maybe I should present the information to a board and ask for a fat check for the idea to make them all another billion dollars.

This is Michigan

May 17th, 2016 at 1:40 PM ^

Cable providers already started capping Internet usuage and charging extra for overage. Just got a notice in the mail from AT&T. It's just one of their manys ways they are trying to combat the amount of people dropping cable.

I wouldn't necessarily call it greedy. They are losing money and looking for ways to stay afloat.

Tuebor

May 17th, 2016 at 4:02 PM ^

Since the internet is now a public utility I expect payment models to begin matching other public utilities like Gas, Electric, and Water.  You will pay for what you use.  Everyone will pay the same rate and those who use more will pay more, those who use less will pay less.  That is only fair.