ads on WBC jerseys?

[cmm]

I just noticed this on espn.com's page 2 (the Feb. 15 Daily Quickie), and I don't think it has been mentioned here:

Meanwhile, MLB reportedly might allow ads on uniforms during the WBC. Maybe that will convince the hysterical, Henny-Penny purists that putting ads on MLB uniforms wouldn't be the end of baseball as we know it.

I hated the ads on the Mets and Cubs jerseys in their Japan Series, and I'll hate the ads on the WBC jerseys, should they be allowed.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I guess we should count ourselves as lucky that the major professional sports aren't covered with ads at this point. Minor league hockey in the US is covered with more ads on the ice and ads on the jerseys. Same with minor league soccer. European and South American pro sports teams look like stock cars, and I would imagine they've gotten it over it by this point.

I'd hate to see a Dodge logo on the Kansas City Royals cap, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see it there sooner than later.

[logodawg]

I really don't care if they have ads on the WBC jerseys since the whole thing is just a thing so good ole Bud can make more money.

[BallWonk]

Personally, I'd rather see ads on MLB jerseys than on WBC jerseys. (Well, I don't want ads on any baseball jerseys, but that's not the question.) International tournaments, like the Olympics and the World Cup, may be hysterical orgies of commercialization of such cynical extremity as to herald the looming collapse of Western civilization beneath a weight of valueless decadence unseen since the latter Roman Empire, or not, but even there you generally don't see paid ads on athlete uniforms. If even soccer can check its rampant jersey ads at the clubhouse door for the World Cup, then so too should baseball. If a commercial franchise wants to sell ad space on its shirts, fine, but national teams are supposed to represent the nation, and nations should not appear to endorse products or particular businesses.

One thing I do mind in general is putting a team's ads on the jerseys sold to the public. If Vodafone wants me to wear its ad on my Fiji rugby shirt -- thanks, Bill! -- it should pay me for the use of my chest as a billboard.

[Bernd]

Crap. As Ballwonk inferred, this would set a bad precedent for major international competition.

[CS85]

I'm very picky about this, and I think it's crap that the bleachers have all the damn ads on them, the jerseys shouldn't be touched. The ads on the batting helmets were haunting, and if ads go on the jerseys, I will vomit. I can't stand ads on jerseys, it really just sickens me.

[hormone]

Fans perspective: Cheesy and unneccary...especially when the ad doesn't match the team's colors or is huge (which it will be or be where a patch could have been)

Owners perspective: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[timparry]

I guess we should count ourselves as lucky that the major professional sports aren't covered with ads at this point. Minor league hockey in the US is covered with more ads on the ice and ads on the jerseys. Same with minor league soccer. European and South American pro sports teams look like stock cars, and I would imagine they've gotten it over it by this point.

I'd hate to see a Dodge logo on the Kansas City Royals cap, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see it there sooner than later.

I'd hate to see a Dodge logo on the Kansas City Royals cap, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see it there sooner than later.

True. But if salaries continue to escalate, teams/leagues will probably start accepting them as a way to make ends meet. Personally, I'd rather see stadium signage than corporate logos (and this comes from an Arena Football fan!).

Bottom line is, brands want to get their name out there. And if, say, Sony, wants to have their logo put on the sleeve of every MLB jersey, they're assured of the live exposure, TV exposure, being seen in the ESPN and local news highlights, the photos used by news agencies on the Web, and the picture on the front page of the sports section. And if they're willing to pay their undisclosed millions to do it, the league/team will probably accept it.

(quick disclosure, I used to cover sports marketing for a promotional marketing trade publication... Doesn't mean I know more than anyone else here - I probably know less - but I still talk with a bunch of people on the agency side about it for one of my current marketing publications).

[Perfect Zero]

The bigger point is this, does uniform advertising work? When I see a Mexican Soccer Team play with Coca-Cola in 500 point lettering, it dosen't make me want a coke, it makes me laugh at the team for all having the last name of Coca-Cola.

Remember when Spiderman-2 came out, and they pulled that promotional deal to put the spiderman colors and crud on the basepads and pitching rubber? Remember how people hated the idea, and got the message across that nobody wanted to see it? If we fight hard enough, we can win against advertising.

[MikeJones]

i was watching a little bit of the Caribbean Series like last week, and they had ads plastered all over the jersey. One example, on one of the teams, the part where the nameplate goes has a big Verizon logo on it. Just awful

[pcgd]

One thing I do mind in general is putting a team's ads on the jerseys sold to the public. If Vodafone wants me to wear its ad on my Fiji rugby shirt -- thanks, Bill! -- it should pay me for the use of my chest as a billboard.

Its not like they spring it on you at the last second. You know buying european and other world teams soccer jerseys that they have the ads on them. You know before it. If you don't want the ad, buy something else.

The bigger point is this, does uniform advertising work? When I see a Mexican Soccer Team play with Coca-Cola in 500 point lettering, it dosen't make me want a coke, it makes me laugh at the team for all having the last name of Coca-Cola.

Yes, it does. Who knew what Vodefone was before they sponsored Manchester United? (at least in the United States) The exposure for some of these premier teams is incredible, and its certainly worth the millions upon millions that corporations pay for the right. For the most part, these are not about general advertising like a magazine ad, its all about Brand recongnition. Why does McDonads still advertise? Its all about ingraning those Golden Arches, the swoosh, or the Coca-Cola script into your head so the next time you are at the store and you see it, you are that much more likely to buy the product.

[OnWis97]

The time has come to put advertising on uniforms. It's a fact of life. It can make money. And they know that fans won't like it. But they also know they won't really lose any fans--The fans will get used to it. Just like we got used to ads all over the outfield walls. The fact that they have held out this long is just bad business. (My team) Minnesota vs. (Your Team) Atlanta will be 3M vs. Delta Airlines. We'll get used to it.

The NFL is obviously #1 in America. But what is #2? NASCAR. People are not bothered by the ads.

Do I want to see the adds? No. But am I going to boycott sports? Probably not. I doubt I'll every buy a jersey again because they'll either have ads or be non-authentic looking. But other than that, the fans won't change.

[MisterE]

The bigger point is this, does uniform advertising work? When I see a Mexican Soccer Team play with Coca-Cola in 500 point lettering, it dosen't make me want a coke, it makes me laugh at the team for all having the last name of Coca-Cola.

Remember when Spiderman-2 came out, and they pulled that promotional deal to put the spiderman colors and crud on the basepads and pitching rubber? Remember how people hated the idea, and got the message across that nobody wanted to see it? If we fight hard enough, we can win against advertising.

The two things I was just about to say. When I see an ad on a minor league uniform, it doesn't make me want to buy it. When I see the CAT logo on the jersey, I just wish they could remove it. Especially when yellow and black aren't even close to the team colors.(Peoria Rivermen)

The only case I see where advertising on a sports uniform does work, is with small children and NASCAR. When a four-year old sees a Pepsi ad on the side of the car, and he likes the car, he'll say "Daddy can you get some Pepsi at the store?" When he sees an ad for Discover on a car, he'll ask if Daddy has a Discover card. He'll remember the ads during the breaks and say we need a Discover card.

[BallWonk]

One thing I do mind in general is putting a team's ads on the jerseys sold to the public. If Vodafone wants me to wear its ad on my Fiji rugby shirt -- thanks, Bill! -- it should pay me for the use of my chest as a billboard.

Its not like they spring it on you at the last second. You know buying european and other world teams soccer jerseys that they have the ads on them. You know before it. If you don't want the ad, buy something else.

That's not the point. The point is that the team wears the advertisement because the advertiser has paid the team for the rights to put its ad on their shirts, not because they think it's a jolly lark to wear ads on their jerseys. So if Vodafone wants to advertise on my shirt, it should pay me.

The real answer here is for teams to offer for sale two versions of their kits: a clean version and a version with the ads on it, and for the version with the ads to cost less. That way the fan will, in effect, see direct revenue for wearing the ad in the form of a lower price.

Question: Now that Newcastle is making such a big push into the American market (in the last few months, Newkie Brown seems to have become about as common as Heineken here in DC; yay!), can they go back to sponsoring Newcastle United? The old Magpie shirts with the Newcastle logos were sweet. That's one jersey ad I approve of.