If you don’t want an advertisement to show up on your favorite NHL team’s jersey, you’re going to need to make your voice heard during the World Cup of Hockey.
It’s been widely reported that the jerseys for the World Cup of Hockey would have some form of advertisement located on the sweater itself. The NHL’s Chief Marketing Officer, Brian Jennings, confirmed ads will be appearing on the sweaters and they are selling inventory to a variety of unnamed companies. A patch with an advertisement will be placed on the shoulders.
Via SportsBusiness Daily:
The NHL already has sold some sponsorships on the shoulders of the jerseys, said NHL CMO Brian Jennings. It is a test, and the league will be listening carefully to see what fans think. “With the use of technology, you’re in a real-time dialogue that lets you know what they think and feel about it,” Jennings said.
Though the league is using the World Cup as a big test for how fans react to the ads, there’s clearly a big divide internally. The NHL still sees a big difference between the World Cup and the league’s regular season and playoffs.
But Jennings also left impression there’s a big diff. in eyes of league between one-off for WC and NHL. https://t.co/XH00TlSzaA
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) June 1, 2016
In short, if you hate the ads on the World Cup jerseys, make your opinion known. Send those negative thoughts not only to the NHL, but also to the companies behind the ads. Make the sponsorship a negative one for the companies involved so that they aren’t happy with their return on investment. If a company thinks they’ll receive a ton of negative publicity – which appears to be the case for some who were asked about sponsoring an NHL team jersey – they won’t waste their time or money.
If the NHL sees a response which is even close to neutral or passive, they won’t hesitate to follow the NBA’s lead and start selling ads on team uniforms.
Will ads on jerseys mark the end of the world? Probably not, but there really aren’t any positives for fans. Some have suggested that ads on jerseys will lead to a larger salary cap. To date, there hasn’t been any evidence to support that thought and even if it was true the impact would be minimal. Aren’t hockey fans abused enough by ads as is? Every segment has a sponsor. The boards are littered with ads and there’s some on the ice too. Now large digital ads appear on the glass during a lot of broadcasts. At what point is it enough? The answer is probably never which is why fans will need to fight a shoulder patch ad to prevent a future where NHL skaters look ridiculous.
Jerseys landing on NHL jerseys might be inevitable, but passionate fans can at least try to keep that evil at bay for as long as possible.
