Centers of Excellence: sports
P&G sponsorship activation is head & shoulders above the fray
Posted by Kathleen Mulcahy in Advertising, Entertainment Marketing, Integration, Licensing, sports on September 9th, 2010
P&G is not the first company one would think of when it comes to humor in marketing, and yet in the past few months they have proved that they do have a funny bone and hope consumers are laughing all the way to the shelves.
Last month’s Isaiah Mustafa for Old Spice You Tube campaign has certainly garnered plenty of attention – industry-wide and among consumers. Old Spice sales are up, whether it’s thanks to the campaign or the couponing, is still being debated. My guess is it’s probably both – just as a true integrated marketing campaign should deliver.
This week’s announcement of Head & Shoulders insuring Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu’s trademark hair for $1 million follows the humorous and integrated blueprint. In addition to the PR announcement of the Lloyd’s of London policy, there is the www. troyshair.com web site featuring free samples, games and sweepstakes and we hope plenty of other NFL-oriented support still to come this season.
P&G has taken their sponsorship of the NFL and the Players Association to new levels with Troy and Isaiah and created appeal for not only the traditional male NFL fan, but the female P&G consumer as well. And that’s not, funny, that’s smart.
Case to watch: Class action suit against NCAA
Posted by Mary Reed in Licensing, Marketing Law, sports on August 6th, 2009
An interesting suit to watch in coming months will be the class action filed in late July against the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its licensing arm, the Collegiate Licensing Co.
The suit, filed in the Northern District of California by a putative class of Division I college football and basketball players, alleges that the NCAA has violated antitrust laws by precluding them from receiving compensation in connection with the sale of merchandise using their images after they have graduated from their institutions. At stake is the right of graduates (not current athletes) to receive compensation when the NCAA licenses products, such as video games, that use their images.
The market for collegiate licensed merchandise currently is $4 billion, and while much of that is not the subject of the suit, the suit does challenge the NCAA’s requirement that student athletes sign a form each year relinquishing in perpetuity the commercial use of their images. The release clause apparently was meant to allow the NCAA to use athlete’s names and images to promote its championship games and other events, activities and programs, but allegedly has been more broadly used by the NCAA without compensation to the players. The case is worth watching for those who license footage and other properties from the NCAA, particularly that of historical interest.
The case was filed by former UCAL basketball star Ed O’Bannon and also requests monetary damages for the class. (O’Bannon v. NCAA, N.D. Cal., No. CV-09-3329, filed 7/21/09).
These materials have been prepared by Winston & Strawn for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.
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