As we hit July, some interesting brand enhancement campaigns, and one new one to watch in a taboo category, have popped up. Take a look…
It’s A Good Year For Pirates, Current and Former: The Pittsburgh Pirates still haven’t caught the attention of casual fans, but they will soon, as the best story in baseball so far this year. However last week, perhaps their greatest player ever got a fitting new tribute from a brand looking to continue its growth outside of the traditional consumer space it occupies.
The player is the late Roberto Clemente, and the brand is Goya Foods, and the two came together to unveil a 3,000 pound bronze likeness of the Hall of Famer, in the aptly named Roberto Clemente State Park, not far from Yankee Stadium. It is also one of a handful of larger than life memorials in the United States dedicated to any native Puerto Rican.
For Goya, a brand which is a behemoth in the Latino community, the commissioning of the statue further cements its ties to its core audience. However just as important is the significance of the unveiling for Goya to gain popularity amongst casual sports fans. With the baseball world descending on New York for the All-Star game, the brand, and the statue should get some added buzz, and with the Pirates returning to a long-lost upper echelon in baseball, the statue can become even more of a national symbol for the glorious past. Look for some great brand extensions by Goya with the statue likeness and probably some additional promos if the Pirates keep on a pace that would make their late star extremely proud. Great timing Goya in the unveiling.
Condoms Making Their Push? There are very few categories that have yet to cross unto acceptable sports advertising. Hard liquor continues to grow as a property, the pay fantasy space is expanding, and now maybe condoms will find a home, with sport finding ways to grab the dollars of big pharma that they have not been able to engage in, to this point.
The latest acceptance came in South America, where Brazilian star Ronaldinho, the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year, is launching a condom brand called “Ronaldinho” and produced by manufacturer “Sex free.” The pitch, according to reports, includes work with his current club Atletico Mineiro and is aimed directly at fighting AIDS, which is still in epidemic proportions in parts of Brazil. It is not going to be a pleasure filled romp of a campaign that may send parents scurrying for explanations; it is going to be well timed to explain how preventative measures can save lives. Similar campaigns have been tied to athletes and celebrities in Asia and Africa as well, trying to save lives and initiate the uninitiated.
The conservative lobbies in North America will still push to keep condom advertising out of the mainstream, but with male enhancement programs dominating the marketplace more and more, it seems like campaigns for AIDS prevention and safe sex by major pharma brands, endorsed by athletes, can’t be that far away. Maybe it can start in the digital space vs. in broadcast, with education messages being prominently displayed. There are huge budgets to back such campaigns, and maybe the time that such awareness programs will be deemed acceptable and tasteful are in the offing. Ronaldinho has taken a leadership position, and as soccer becomes more and more mainstream in the States, that position may help amplify and gain acceptance for a product category, one of very few, still deemed off-limits for those selling sport. An interesting one to watch.
Pats, Blackhawks Step Up To Enhance Their Brands: Lastly, for opposite reasons, the Chicago Blackhawks and the New England Patriots both took stands this week that reaffirmed their positions as not just smart sport brands, but forward thinking elite businesses as well. Chicago, which has risen to new heights off the ice for their forward thinking and innovation under John McDonough, took one of the rarest of steps in sport, spending money to thank the BOSTON fans after Chicago’s exciting Stanley Cup win. It showed compassion, class and a great awareness of the power of doing the little things…albeit this time with a big ad…which differentiates companies in a competitive marketplace. The good will that resonates from such a move, both in Chicago and in Boston, helps lift not just the position of the Blackhawks but of all of hockey, and is a step that could easily be repeated down the line if circumstances warrant.
Then you have the Patriots, dealing with the issues of Aaron Hernandez. Their move to have fans redeem Hernandez jerseys for another Pats jersey, no questions asked, was a smart and decisive message to fans who spend lots of money on such items, items which all too often become useless once a player moves on to another team in today’s volatile sports world.
Now to be fair, this is Aaron Hernandez, not Tom Brady, so the amount of merch out there is not huge, and the redemption has to take place in a short window and at only designated locations. But the idea that the Pats even made the offer to their fans sends the message that New England gets it and needs to find a way to right a wrong. No doubt the move will pay for itself in appreciation and even more brand loyalty down the road for Robert Kraft and his team. It also sets a very interesting precedent for other teams in all sports when some sort of egregious behavior occurs. Will others copy what the Pats have done in such extreme circumstances? This is not a player underperforming or even being convicted of a petty crime…this was a player in his prime close to being potentially convicted of a capital offense. It is a situation hopefully few, if any teams will have to ever deal with, but if it does, the way the Pats handled such a tangible element as a jersey return speaks loudly as to what could be done in the future. Nice score for New England in a horrible, no win situation for so many.
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