One of the tests in adolescent speech and language asks the client for reasons on why some things being named. Why is Draino a good name for a cleaning product? Greyhound a good name for a bus company? After the Pinkness race, Why is Big Brown a good name for a race horse? If you said the horse is big and brown, you would only be partially right.
The horse Big Brown, was named after the major supporter of a trucking firm in New Jersy that supplied UPS with their trucks. Because UPS was such a good customer the owner of the company when he was looking for a name for his 3.5 million dollar horse. He named him Big Brown,
Big Brown is another name for UPS. UPS is using it in its advertisements. What his Big Brown done for you today?
There is potential that horse racing may be getting to the place that Nascar is with its little logos all over the uniforms of the drivers and certainly all over the cars.
In this case the advertisement is embeded into the horse's name.
I am sure that corporate UPS would be happy that a horse named after them won two legs of the triple crown. They are not sponsors like they are in Nascar... but they could be. It may be how they are going to survive as a sport with fewer venues down the road.
I read somewhere that each of those sponsors of Nascar cars has to pay a certain amount of dollars for each time their logo is seen on TV. There is one to ask Bonnie.. Kelly's friend who is a Nascar fan.
Some sports have worked hard to keep this part out of their sport. You would think that golf would lead the way since there is instance of quiet during most of the event and it is a sedate sport. That is not the case. Every golfer has a bag that carries the sponsorship name upon it. The golf hat is emblazon with corporate logos. They even allow corporate folks to pay to play along with the pros in the Pro Am tournaments. When you go to see the Pro Am at Pebble Beach, there are celebrities, and corporate hot shots that pony up big cash to play along with a pro. They are basically unknown to the outside world. At events like the US Open there are only certain apparel companies allowed to hawk their goods at the event. But to their credit is not exclusive rights of just one company.
Corporate sponsorship shows up in the movies as well. Every time an Apple logo shows up on a computer in the movie Apple pays for its exposure, as well as General Mills for Cherrios and other identifiable corporate products.
So do you think that corporate identity interrupting the continuity of the storyline or the sporting event is acceptable? Should they have to replace the cereal box on the movie set with a generic label? Is it all right in sports?
It must be effective. I can name at least three Tiger Woods sponsors, his beverage, Buick, and Nike. Will that make me want to buy those products? I don't think so.
Back to the original idea. When you hear the phrase "Big Brown," do you think UPS? I didn't so it was lost of me. Now that I know, it isn't.
Go Big Brown, win the triple crown.
Happy Sunday.. Pat
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You didn't even name Gatorade as a Tiger sponsor! ...and that T3 is making the airwaves!
I alway laugh at movies where it's obvious that product placement has been paid. This started in the late 70's/early '80s... I'm thinking of a Whoopie Goldberg movie called "Jumpin' Jack Flash" where the computers in an office had conspicuous labeling on them for the computer company "Sperry" (remember them?). Of course it has been happening for years, that was just when I became aware of it. This is one of the reasons that people still smoke on movie screens, it's the only place where they can.
I'm not in favor of generic labels or fuzzed out label like on t.v.. Hey, people buy brand like Cherrios and as long as the box hasn't been altered to make the brand name bigger... then I'm fine with it.
Bonnie gets all into the sponsorship deals and will tell you word-for-word the big brown ads that feature the NASCAR drivers. I still think that it funny to see something essential like home shows or sports that lose their core for the emotional byproducts. When Bonnie starts telling me about the personal lives of the race drivers and how so-and-son has a grudge from this point or how so-and-so is going to work for another car company because his stepmother won't let him have artistic freedom... it make me think that another sport has become a soap opera.
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