Little League Baseball Sponsorships
Author: Baseball Bob
Are sponsorship logos on uniforms why soccer has not caught on in the U.S.?
Outside the U.S., professional football (soccer) team uniforms have a tiny little crest for the team’s logo, paired with a nice big corporate ad across the front of the jersey. An example is “Fly Emirates” on I don’t know what team – this is precisely my point – it brands anything but the team and there is no team identity! American (MLS) teams are beginning to go the same way (e.g. Herbalife on L.A. Galaxy). As an American I’ll be the first to admit we’re a very commercialized society, but in any popular American sports league (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL – NASCAR is the exception), sponsor ads are restricted to stadium walls and TV/Radio plugs. You NEVER see them blazing across the front of a uniform. It’s taboo! The game and team identity are sacred entities not to be defiled. Remember the backlash when they tried to advertise the Spiderman movie on second base in a baseball game? Can you imagine “American Airlines” instead of “Yankees” when they take the field? Discuss.
Soccer has completely different advertising economics than baseball, American football, basketball, and hockey. The four major American sports have extensive commerical times between breaks in action. Whether it’s a timeout, between innings or a faceoff, TV viewers are subjected to a 2 minute commercial break.
Have you ever been to a live NFL game? Man… I can’t believe how many breaks in action there are. It’s really annoying… 50% of the game is breaks!
Soccer has no commerical breaks for 45+ minutes. The lack of commerical breaks makes soccer less appealing to television networks because it’s harder to generate advertising revenue. The loss of TV rights revenue can be replaced partly by uniform advertising.
Advertising Pepsi on Yankee uniforms would be taboo to Americans because it would be viewed as another greedy money-making scheme by MLB. TV viewers are subjected to so many TV commericals, so now you want to make an extra buck by commercializing uniforms???
To soccer TV viewers, it’s just part of the business. All of them would glady accept sponsors on uniforms than commercial breaks in the middle of the match.
By the way, Arsenal is the EPL club that is sponsored by Emirates. MLS was weary about sponsors on uniforms until this current season, citing the same perception issues as I wrote above in other sports. But they felt many Americans have watched enough European soccer to see it’s quite normal to the sport. Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy were the first clubs (I guess Red Bull NY too) to use sponsors on uniforms, but I think other clubs are waiting for the right sponsor to approach them.
By the way, I’m not sure why both clubs used obscure sponsors… Herbalife is a somewhat controversial weight loss product, and who’s heard of Xango? They paid more money but wouldn’t you want better brands on your uniforms?
Brian-Kyles Sponsors Little League