Ben Farr OUIL501 Working Title: How are Sportspeople used within Advertising and what do they Represent? ‘History has proved that athletes can sell products and, perhaps even more important, create the connections between brand and consumer that contemporary companies consider key to success’ (Rachel Arthur, 2016). The stars of the sporting world have dedicated themselves to reaching the top of their respective fields, for a brand they can represent commitment, expertise and success. They have also won the hearts of their fans, so when they endorse a product they create a bond between brand and consumer. ‘No form of persuasion gets off the ground without some degree of trust. Trust allows give and take in dealings with others, and when added to sentiment, creates loyalty. Loyalty means the consumer cares and may even care for a brand which does not play an important function for him or her’ (John O'Shaughnessy, Nicholas J. O'Shaughnessy, 2004, p6). ‘Consumer advertising most commonly associates products with symbols that exemplify values, group feeling, prestige, status, power, achievement or just plain hedonistic pleasure. Whatever a product is associated with affects perceptions of the product. Association can be powerful. One mouse or cockroach running across the floor of a restaurant can, through association ruin a meal, while the presence of a celebrity can enhance it.’ (John O'Shaughnessy, Nicholas J. O'Shaughnessy, 2004, p57). Sportspeople can be that powerful, persuasive symbol for advertisers. Sports advertising, sponsorship and endorsements are dominated by men, and male athletes. ‘Sponsorship decisions are most often made by senior managers in both sport and consumer product organizations. As both continue to be dominated by masculine ideologies and networks, sponsorship agreements tend to be skewed this way as well’ (Ellen J. Staurowsky, 2016, p242). This means that not only is sports advertising mainly targeted at men, but also male athletes are receiving more income form sponsorship deals. When sportsmen are used within advertising they often represent masculinity, dominance, strength and power as well as sporting excellence and athletic prowess. This is because, according to Anthony Cortese (1999, p57) ‘the traditional gender roles are so easily recognized by consumers’. Cortese (1999) argues that ‘Advertising images provide culturally sanctioned ideal types of masculinity and femininity. Advertisers targeting women consumers subscribe to very limited notions of what constitutes femininity e.g. dependency, concern with superficial beauty, fixation on family.’ Is it easier therefore to advertise men as strong, aggressive athletes because they are attributes more readily recognised as masculine?
Whether it be Rafael Nadal’s aggressive, hard-hitting tennis style or Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘explosive speed’ and athleticism. In both of these Nike adverts the focus in on the men as sportspeople and
their physical ability, power and dominance on the court and field. We know that these two men are at the top of their game and therefore consumers want to be like them by buying the same boots or trainers as them. Sportsmen are also used to advertise companies, products and services with less obvious sporting connections, such as banking and finance. Male sport has a global audience, the English Premier League, for example, is televised across 200 territories worldwide reaching an audience of over 3 billion (Premier league, 2017). This creates global superstars that can even transcend their sporting field. Gavin Haig the chief executive of the British fashion brand Belstaff said of their partnership with David Beckham; “We weren’t attracted to the footballer but the man David Beckham and what he stood for.” One of the most prominent examples of a sports star being used as the face for a company’s advertising is Tiger Woods and Accenture. Back in 2003 Tiger Woods was dominating Golf, he was one of the biggest names in sport, and Accenture had just gone through renaming and rebranding process. Accenture needed the positive associations that came with Woods to put them on the map. Woods represented success, reliability, dedication and therefore, by association, Accenture would be thought of as being the best. Also, the name Tiger helped when creating catchy tag lines like ‘we know what it takes to be a tiger’. After Tiger signed a multi-year deal with Accenture in 2003, a press release stated that; ‘the advertisements position Woods in situations during golf matches that demand optimum performance in competitive environments with a focus on winning. The campaign explains how Accenture leverages business-critical capabilities, industry expertise, global resources and technology to help its clients achieve superior economic performance.’ (Lisa Gordon-Miller, Accenture, 2003). The strategic elements and problem solving involved in the game of golf lend themselves to translating into metaphors for business scenarios. ‘Companies are scrambling to reactivate long-neglected methods of reaching the consumer, like sports sponsorship, billboards and videos wherever there are people waiting, whether at airports or in doctors’ waiting rooms.’ (John O'Shaughnessy, Nicholas J. O'Shaughnessy, 2004, p1). Accenture Knew their target audience and knew that big billboards in airports would catch the eye of business people. There is also a connection between Golf and business, in that a lot of business people like watching and playing golf and spend corporate days on the golf course and golf clubhouses. For Accenture Tiger was their symbol that embodied everything the company wanted to project to
consumers. ‘A good deal of persuasive advertising tries to fuse a company’s brand with the target groups values and valued images. Persuasion here eschews facts and arguments and resorts instead to the presentation of symbols that stand on their own as effective persuaders.’ (John O'Shaughnessy, Nicholas J. O'Shaughnessy, 2004, p64). This was all until 2009, when Tiger’s highly publicised indiscretions in his personal life tarnished his reputation, and Accenture were forced to drop him, which shows the perils of investing heavily in a celebrity. A reason why female athletes aren’t used as repeatedly as male athletes in advertising is the global audience for women’s sport isn’t as big as men’s. ‘Media coverage has been cited as a major reason for involvement in sport sponsorship. Since men’s sport is covered at a much higher rate, it would only make sense for the executives making sponsorship deals to choose this as a platform where they would get the most expose and bang for their buck’ (Ellen J. Staurowsky, 2016, p242). It takes a brave sponsor to take a risk with a rising star or a slightly less-known sportsperson. Staurowsky (2016) argues that male advertising executives follow industry trends and always aware of what their competitors are doing, everyone is looking for household names, which are so often men, to promote their business ‘While it may not be the bold ground-breaking move, it is the safe one’ (Ellen J. Staurowsky, 2016, p243).
Also, advertising as an industry is dominated by men. Ali Hanan (2016) claims ‘women are the most powerful consumers on the planet, making 85% of all purchasing decisions. Across any sector you can think of – technology, cars, houses, pharmaceuticals – women hold the household purse strings…however, there are very few female creative directors making the adverts that women see.’ Referring back to Anthony Cortese (1999) he believed that ‘Advertising images provide culturally sanctioned ideal types of masculinity and femininity’. This is evidenced in the tone of advertising containing sportswomen or promoting women’s sport, which has is different to men’s. There is a definite focus on beauty, and fitness for aesthetic purposes rather than competition, some would call this sexism, others say it’s targeted advertising. ‘Men overwhelmingly dominate creative departments and their output, which can’t be good for creativity’ (Ali Hanan 2016). In Hanan’s article for the guardian she states that research shows ‘91% of female consumers feel advertisers don’t understand them. Seven in 10 women go further to say they feel “alienated” by advertising.’ So, targeted advertising isn’t working, advertising containing sportswomen needs a change tonally if it is to connect with women consumers. The Women's Tennis Association’s ‘Strong is Beautiful’ campaign is one that has divided opinion. The ad and print campaign aimed to raise the profile of the top ranked female tennis players and increase the number of household names within women’s tennis. This seems like a step in right direction, celebrating the athlete, and trying to create a personal connection with fans. But why the focus on beauty? ‘When female athletes are featured in ads, it tends to be in ways that hyper feminize them rather than highlight their athletic competence’ (William Lee Adams 2011). The players have been photographed in full make-up and dresses complete with wind machine. ‘According to a number of sports-media researchers, the campaign — like so many others in female
sports — undermines its players' achievements by sexualizing them, inadvertently or otherwise’ (William Lee Adams, 2011). Why do sportswomen have to be beautiful? It’s not a pressure placed on male sports stars, Nike has used Wayne Rooney and Frank Ribery in their football advertising, neither of whom are known for their good looks. Why should being the best at a sport have anything to do with how you look, or ‘beauty’.
However, Merlisa Lawrence-Corbett (2014) questions criticism of the WTA’s approach claiming that it’s working ‘Female tennis players are the most recognizable women in sports. The WTA is the only professional women's league in which players earn anything close to what their male counterparts make.’ Although Lawrence-Corbett admits that the WTA is treading a fine line with its ‘Sporty, yet sexy and physical, but flirty’ approach, the fact is that four of the five richest sportswomen are tennis players. ‘While those in politics, academia and corporate America debate equal rights, the WTA has achieved equal pay in Grand Slams. They have done this despite playing best of three instead of best of five sets like the men. Walking that fine line serves the WTA, an organization that understands that equality doesn't necessarily mean being the same’ (Merlisa Lawrence-Corbett, 2014). In a world of advertising targeted at men and advertising targeted at women Alexandra Matine (2016) claims ‘marketers are slow to catch up’ with the times. Matine goes on to list Fashion designer Craig Green (who became the first winner of dress of the year for a menswear design) and music artist Ezra Furman as examples of how western society is changing its views on gender roles and classification. Matine is slightly critical of campaigns like ‘strong is beautiful’ and claims ‘female empowerment is becoming the 21st-century equivalent of creating a “for her” version of a product’ (Alexandra Matine 2016). This trend can also be seen in ad campaigns like Always’ ‘#LikeAGirl’ and Sport England’s ‘This Girl Can’. Matine states that they are examples of ‘femvertising’ and that although the ‘campaigns have been well received as challenging traditional stereotypes…could they be doing more than dissociating themselves from wrongful standards? What about leading a progressive conversation for equality?’ Sports big brands now seem to be looking to level the playing field and produce advertising with a message for women and men. Nike’s Unlimited series and Under armours’ ‘I will what I want’ aim to show that hard work and dedication get athletes to the top irrespective of gender or looks. The adverts are stripped back, and deliver honest portrayals of sports stars as people as well as hardtraining athletes. Kristi Dosh (2016) says that the days of "Shrink it and pink it" as a marketing strategy are all but dead and ‘we're finally getting marketing campaigns around sports that recognize women watch and play sports for many of the same reasons as men.’ Dosh (2016) continues to praise new advertising campaigns, especially Under Armour, she states that ‘characteristics like hard work and the underdog mentality haven't been the way marketers have portrayed women traditionally, let alone in sports advertising. Those are characteristics that make both men and women successful. Meaning brands can find ways to appeal to both men and
women in the same campaigns - it doesn't have to be an either-or situation.’ Under Armour’s Misty Copeland campaign has been a huge success with over 10million view on YouTube. Dosh (2016) says that this has had a direct impact on the growth and continued rise of Under Armour's women's business. Serena Williams is a global superstar and has signed big money deals with Gatorade and Beats by Dre as well as appearing in a Beyoncé video. In the UK Jessica Ennis is reaping the rewards of two successful Olympics, her achievements coupled with her likeably has won the trust of consumers. This has helped Ennis gain sponsorship from Adidas, PowerAde, Vitality and Olay and she has become the first female face of Santander’s advertising. In America, the Women’s’ National Soccer league continues to grow and make stars out of the likes of Hope Solo and Alex Morgan. Morgan has sponsorship deals with Nike and Coca-Cola as well as appearing on the front cover of the FIFA 16 alongside Lionel Messi in the US edition of the game, FIFA 16 was also the first game to include professional women’s’ teams. Investment and engagement in women’s sport and sportswomen is slowly but surely growing, so perhaps we will see more adverts like Under Armours inspiring “I Will What I Want’ campaign.
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