Jersey Ads

[SeawaterOnIce]

Can someone photoshop an HFBOARDS ad onto a jersey?

 

[ElLeetch]

I will say it again:

Never buy another piece of officially licensed merchandise ever again. Never.

 

[J bo Jeans]

I heard you the first time. The difference is meaningless to this viewer. These are simply no longer NHL jerseys. They're ads.

lol come on man.

 

[dr robbie]

I'm just glad that this is where they draw the line and they will never add more ads or make them larger or more noticeable in the future.

 

[norrisnick]

I heard you the first time. The difference is meaningless to this viewer. These are simply no longer NHL jerseys. They're ads.

With that line of reasoning hockey games have been commercials for decades so what difference does the jersey ad make?

Same goes for basically everything else in society apart from person to person story telling.

 

[haseoke39]

With that line of reasoning hockey games have been commercials for decades so what difference does the jersey ad make?

Same goes for basically everything else in society apart from person to person story telling.

Advertising has always existed in order to stand between you and the thing that you want. You wade through it to get the actual product. But it is not the product.

Here, the thing that you want is the jersey. The players change, the management changes, the arena changes, the ownership changes. You, as a fan, are loyal to nothing but the symbology of the team, and the core of that is the jersey. It represents your community.

You turn the jersey into an ad, it no longer represents you or your community. And that's a powerful shift. For me, it's actually quite a reversal of what the league has done for a hundred years.

 

[norrisnick]

Advertising has always existed in order to stand between you and the thing that you want. You wade through it to get the actual product. But it is not the product.

Here, the thing that you want is the jersey. The players change, the management changes, the arena changes, the ownership changes. You, as a fan, are loyal to nothing but the symbology of the team, and the core of that is the jersey. It represents your community.

You turn the jersey into an ad, it no longer represents you or your community. And that's a powerful shift. For me, it's actually quite a reversal of what the league has done for a hundred years.

It is no different. The product I want is the game.

An ad break is right in the middle of a hockey game (many many times). You can't watch the hockey game without the ad break. Just as you can't look at the jersey without the ad (which isn't the first ad added to the sweater anyway you just convinced yourself that the adidas, Reebok, CCM, Koho,, whoever else was the official jersey provider over the years didn't count).

And that's nothing compared to the numerous teams that have rebranded several times over the years.

It's all an ad. Everything is marketing. You can convince yourself otherwise, but that's the world we live in.

 

[haseoke39]

It is no different. The product I want is the game.

An ad break is right in the middle of a hockey game (many many times). You can't watch the hockey game without the ad break. Just as you can't look at the jersey without the ad (which isn't the first ad added to the sweater anyway you just convinced yourself that the adidas, Reebok, CCM, Koho,, whoever else was the official jersey provider over the years didn't count).

And that's nothing compared to the numerous teams that have rebranded several times over the years.

It's all an ad. Everything is marketing. You can convince yourself otherwise, but that's the world we live in.

Then I guess there's not much point in being loyal to any of it. It's worth what you'd pay to watch independent athletes. But that's not how most fans with loyalty to a particular team treat it.

I can be convinced by the uber-cynical line that nothing was ever sacred, it's all garbage, but I can't reconcile that perspective with being loyal to a team for a quarter century, even when they were bad, because I felt like they were a part of my identity, my community, the people and the place I came from.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Ok?

You're in some pretty rare company then, I guess, if the smallest ad on a team jersey is earth-shattering to you.

I’d say you are in the minority, most don’t like it. As have been said numerous times in this thread and others.

 

[norrisnick]

Then I guess there's not much point in being loyal to any of it. It's worth what you'd pay to watch independent athletes. But that's not how most fans with loyalty to a particular team treat it.

Because fans are fans of the team. Not the physical sweater they all happen to be wearing. Are there Home Sweater fans and Road sweater fans? The sweaters are different but they represent the team. The idea. Not the bit of fabric.

You round up a bunch of people walking down the street and have them suit up for the Habs doesn't make them the Habs even if they are wearing the sweater.

 

[Dr Pepper]

I’d say you are in the minority, most don’t like it. As have been said numerous times in this thread and others.

I guess I just figured it was inevitable.

And again, these teeny tiny ads make such a small impact visually. I'm sure over time there will be more intrusion but for now it's really not a big deal.

 

[haseoke39]

Because fans are fans of the team. Not the physical sweater they all happen to be wearing. Are there Home Sweater fans and Road sweater fans? The sweaters are different but they represent the team. The idea. Not the bit of fabric.

You round up a bunch of people walking down the street and have them suit up for the Habs doesn't make them the Habs even if they are wearing the sweater.

But what represents the team? Nothing but the uniform. If not that, it's completely intangible. So yes, I take the only tangible thing that was ever treated as sacred as important to preserve.

And yes, if you sign 30 guys off the street, they will be the Habs. And Montreal will root for them. That's the point.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Because fans are fans of the team. Not the physical sweater they all happen to be wearing. Are there Home Sweater fans and Road sweater fans? The sweaters are different but they represent the team. The idea. Not the bit of fabric.

You round up a bunch of people walking down the street and have them suit up for the Habs doesn't make them the Habs even if they are wearing the sweater.

Luckily I have about 15 Jerseys of different teams, so I don’t need anymore, or will buy anymore.

 

[norrisnick]

But what represents the team? Nothing but the uniform. If not that, it's completely intangible. So yes, I take the only tangible thing that was ever treated as sacred as important to preserve.

And yes, if you sign 30 guys off the street, they will be the Habs. And Montreal will root for them. That's the point.

That's been the point all along. The thing you are trying to preserve is intangible. You're attaching it to a symbol (idol?) but what you really are a fan of is an idea.

They would boo them off the ice. And that's my point.

Luckily I have about 15 Jerseys of different teams, so I don’t need anymore, or will buy anymore.

I've never bought/owned a jersey.

EDIT - scratch that my sister gave me an Argentina nat'l team jersey when she was an exchange student and my grandmother got me a Bayern jersey (big ol' Opel logo in the front). Getting old when you randomly remember gifts from 20-30yrs ago.

 

[haseoke39]

That's been the point all along. The thing you are trying to preserve is intangible. You're attaching it to a symbol (idol?) but what you really are a fan of is an idea.

They would boo them off the ice. And that's my point.


I've never bought/owned a jersey.

Yeah, I think this is an important distinction. If an idea matters, if it's real, it takes its symbology seriously. The US doesn't sell just one of the stars on its flag to become a McDonalds logo. The Catholic church doesn't put the facebook logo on the cross (just a little, inobtrusive one, where they nail the right hand). The major political parties don't put a corporate logo on the donkey/elephant. Why? Would that change anything about what the institution actually means?

Well, yes. In the eyes of the people who put faith in that institution, it would. If you don't take the symbol as sacred, we don't trust you that the underlying idea is sacred either.

Here, the idea is that "we represent a city." That's the message they've spent a century trying to send. It's a message that they've been stunningly successful at sending, to the point where people recognize the jersey across the continent as a symbol of your local civic identity, more than any other symbol available. Which is different from "we happen to locate here for revenue purposes." The latter idea is worth much less to me than the former. When you sell that symbol, you swap "representation" for "revenue" in my eyes.

But I appreciate your comment. It's an interesting distinction to probe.

 

[norrisnick]

Yeah, I think this is an important distinction. If an idea matters, if it's real, it takes its symbology seriously. The US doesn't sell just one of the stars on its flag to become a McDonalds logo. The Catholic church doesn't put the facebook logo on the cross. The major political parties don't put a corporate logo on the donkey/elephant. Why? Would that change anything about what the institution actually means?

Well, yes. In the eyes of the people who put faith in that institution, it would. If you don't take the symbol as sacred, we don't trust you that the underlying idea is sacred either.

Here, the idea is that "we represent a city." That's the message they've spent a century trying to send. Which is different from "we happen to locate here for revenue purposes." The latter is worth much less to me than the former.

But I appreciate your comment. It's an interesting distinction to probe.

I'm not big into sacred nature of symbols (or anything really). Be it flag, cross, golden arches, apple, etc... The symbols/logos have all been meticulously marketed to try and preserve whatever meaning they would like it to have. And to different people the same symbol can mean very different things.

 

[Jedub]

The difference is that the team logo (or lettering, in some cases) remains unmistakably front and center.

Maybe sometime in the future the ad placement will be far more prominent (like the aforementioned EPL example), but for now it's still quite insignificant in my eyes.

But it's still gone from a 100% hockey uniform representing the team and city into an advertising space. Make of it what you will.

 

[Dr Pepper]

But it's still gone from a 100% hockey uniform representing the team and city into an advertising space. Make of it what you will.

But it's such a small space though!

There's ads plasters all over the boards, stenciled into the ice, even digitally added into the game.

Every single aspect of the game has a sponsor, from the intermission report to a power play.

If bringing in an extra bit of ad revenue (with very minimal jersey space) helps increase player salaries, I'd say that's a worthy cause.

 

[haseoke39]

But it's such a small space though!

There's ads plasters all over the boards, stenciled into the ice, even digitally added into the game.

Every single aspect of the game has a sponsor, from the intermission report to a power play.

If bringing in an extra bit of ad revenue (with very minimal jersey space) helps increase player salaries, I'd say that's a worthy cause.

Yeah, but I'm not loyal to the boards or the ice surface. I'm loyal to the jersey.

 

[Jedub]

But it's such a small space though!

There's ads plasters all over the boards, stenciled into the ice, even digitally added into the game.

Every single aspect of the game has a sponsor, from the intermission report to a power play.

If bringing in an extra bit of ad revenue (with very minimal jersey space) helps increase player salaries, I'd say that's a worthy cause.

This kinda sounds like Stockholm syndrome! Are you going to be the one saying "the team logo is still the largest logo on the jersey!" when they expand it to more and more sponsors?

The fact is, it doesn't matter how big or small the ad itself is. I don't appreciate the league taking what is supposed to represent my community, and turning it into an ad. I already shell out thousands for tickets, extortionate prices for concessions, I bought a new $300 jersey every year since my Jets came back, and the league has record revenues. If all that matters is making money, well, then just say that! Instead they go on and on about how great the game is and then shove more and more ads down my throat. It's a farce.

 

[norrisnick]

This kinda sounds like Stockholm syndrome! Are you going to be the one saying "the team logo is still the largest logo on the jersey!" when they expand it to more and more sponsors?

The fact is, it doesn't matter how big or small the ad itself is. I don't appreciate the league taking what is supposed to represent my community, and turning it into an ad. I already shell out thousands for tickets, extortionate prices for concessions, I bought a new $300 jersey every year since my Jets came back, and the league has record revenues. If all that matters is making money, well, then just say that! Instead they go on and on about how great the game is and then shove more and more ads down my throat. It's a farce.

I mean... by what preceded the bolded it's clearly working for them this way.

 

[Jedub]

I mean... by what preceded the bolded it's clearly working for them this way.

What do you mean? they're clearly making a lot of money?

 

[norrisnick]

What do you mean? they're clearly making a lot of money?

Yes, off of you specifically but also in general.

 

[Jedub]

Yes, off of you specifically but also in general.

Well I think that's the point im trying to make. I'm here to support the team. I'm not a cash cow. But I'm being treated as one. And regardless of how much money I give them directly, I'm supposed to be ok with more and more crap cluttering up the experience of actually watching the game.

 

[norrisnick]

Well I think that's the point im trying to make. I'm here to support the team. I'm not a cash cow. But I'm being treated as one.

I mean... to the Jets you certainly are.