Sports Sponsorships That Seem Ridiculous Today (Part 2)

over 2 years ago

Yesterday I wrote about how times have changed in sports advertisement. Some ads just seem way out of place by todays standards and just seem wrong. I covered sports endorsements with tobacco companies, an endorsement about fried chicken which doesn't make sense from one of the most physique athletes in the world, and how "Bonar" was thought appropriate to be emblazoned at the front of a Scottish football team.

You can check that post out here. Well today I present the final part of the most ridiculous sports sponsorships with a slightly more Aussie feel.

Winfield - NSW Rugby League Premiership (Rugby League)

From 1982-1994 the Winfield Cup was awarded to the winner of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership (NSWRL) Grand Final, the premier Rugby League competition in Australia. Like the fate of Benson & Hedges, the Winfield sponsorship was dropped following the federal government's introduction of outlawing tobacco advertising in sports.

The competition would change it's format into the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and involved into the National Rugby League in 1998 which is what it is known as today.

DONG - Denmark National Team (Football)

The Danish Oil and Natural Gas (DONG) company is the largest developer of offshore wind power and has a long standing sponsorship arrangement with the Danish National Team. Much of the teams apparel has been emblazoned with the word DONG, much like Oxford City's WANG jerseys I mentioned about in my post yesterday. In 2017 the company renamed to Ørsted which means that we can now avoid the awkwardness of Danish DONG apparel being exposed.

James Hardie Industries - Parramatta Eels (Rugby League)

James Hardie was the longest serving sponsor for the Parramatta Eels in a partnership lasting 15 years from 1981-1995. James Hardie is Australia's largest manufacturer of asbestos cement panels and other building products.

Australia is also one of the leading countries per capita with asbestosis and mesothelioma cases which is caused by exposure to asbestos particles which can be inhaled when working with the heat-resistant fibre cement sheets that James Hardie manufactured.

Using asbestos was profitable for big companies like James Hardie and many court cases have proven that they, along with other companies around the world, chose not to tell customers and their own workers about the potential dangers of working with the material. It's crazy to think that such a company was supported by one of the biggest rugby league clubs in Australia.

Freedom of Speech - Gold Coast United (Football)

The now defunct Australian football (soccer) team Gold Coast United was bankrolled by Aussie billionaire Clive Palmer. Due to a legal dispute with global hotel management company and primary sponsor Hyatt Regency Coolum, Palmer decided to strip the company's logo from the front of their jersey. Gold Coast then placed the words "Freedom of Speech" at the front of his jersey.

The context however is that Palmer had an ongoing war against the Football Association and it's chief executive after making a statement that soccer was "hopeless" and he preferred rugby league, a rival sports code. It was viewed that his message was subliminal despite stating that he was "in support of refuges". Because it broke the Club Participation Agreement and the club refused to remove the "advertisement", the clubs license was sensationally revoked only a week later.

Pooh Jeans - AC Milan (Football)

Italian football giants AC Milan had one of the most funniest sponsorship arrangements in history. During the 1981-82 season the front of the Milan jersey was emblazoned with "Pooh". It was in reference to "Pooh Jeans" which was a casual jeans clothing brand created in 1972.

It certainly gathered peoples attention however Milan can be forgiven as they may not have understood the meaning of the homophonic English word which we know as the "number two".

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Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.