Skaters' commercial endorsements for the Sochi Olympics | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Skaters' commercial endorsements for the Sochi Olympics

Serious Business

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Someone has to say it: Kwan's advertising potential as a skating legend is way overrated. Take the example of another skating legend: The last major ad campaign Kristi Yamaguchi was in was a campaign ad for Mitt Romney. *sadtrombone* Casting faded skaters and Dancing with the Stars alumni was one in a long line of hilarious misfires from Romney's much derided ad team. And now, Coca-Cola has decided to learn from them.

But Romney's team didn't stop with just Ms. Yamaguchi. A giant lineup of former Olympic medalists were hoisted on stage for the 2012 Republican National Convention, including our very own Scott Hamilton. The Democratic National Convention went with just one. Guess which one got more press?

See, people don't want that old, busted stuff. They want that new new. Powerful young athletes with more medals to look forward to are scintillating, bursting with possibilities and hope. Old athletes whose glory is in the past make people think of decay, entropy and the inevitable breakdown of the human body that dooms us all, Olympians and mortals alike. Coke already tastes a bit medicinal. Do they really want to strengthen the association by putting granny Kwan on the cans? :biggrin:
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
When you say "people," I presume you mean the only people who matter, those in the 15-to-25 age bracket? Because a lot of the people I know (should I call them something else? Beings? Ladies and gentlemen? Almost human?) still think of Michelle and Kristi as interesting and powerful, in wider ways than just in a sports arena. But I guess they don't count; I know I certainly don't count. (Mathman might verify if folk like me, who don't count, are imaginary numbers.)

And proud of it.
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
60 year old women are too smart to drink coke. I hate that corp. as well. but would rather see the money go to the younguins needing it to train. I doubt mk ever drank much coke. it is addictive due to about 16 tsps. of white sugar per can/bottle. pure poison. I have always thought coke and macdonalds should pay sin taxes for their products. I have met many people who drank a coke for breakfast to wake up. also, since SB brought up Dasani water, I read once that Coke actually bought water from the Ganges and purified it for ? products. This was several years ago-I don't recall the source just the shock/disgust if true.

Anyone know if this was true or urban myth?

Actually most soda makers don't use sugar. It's too expensive. They use high fructose corn syrup, which is worse than sugar IMHO.

Regardless, if you hate Coke, why do you care who Coke uses to shill their product?
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Even though we should be happy that Coke is actually sponsoring someone, don't most of us here feel kind of ripped off? Both of these skaters, yes even Lysacek, are irrelevant to competitive skating today.

Yes, Coke makes its decisions best based on what it thinks will sell its sugar-carbonated bad-for-your teeth and probably not so good for your body beverage. But what the sport most needs is that its present skaters be supported and promoted by sponsors. Coke is not going to go that route. It is making its message very clear.

One can draw whatever inferences about what type of corporate citizen Coke is by going with these two skaters, one of whom obviously does not need the money and both of whom are irrelevant to the sport today. Let's give Coke its due then. If Coke wants to come across to those who presently follow skating: as a corporation that is rich and irrelevant to the present sport and those who skate competitively in it today, that is how it should be appreciated.

There are present day competitive skaters that it could and SHOULD have used.

Shame on Coke.

Why is Coke forced to sponsor skaters they don't care about? If that makes them a bad corporate citizen, how about you? Do you use your own hard-earned money to support skaters financially? If not, why not and why is your lack of giving money out to people who need is somehow more morally superior to Coke doing the exactly the same?
 

Nadia01

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Someone has to say it: Kwan's advertising potential as a skating legend is way overrated. Take the example of another skating legend: The last major ad campaign Kristi Yamaguchi was in was a campaign ad for Mitt Romney. *sadtrombone* Casting faded skaters and Dancing with the Stars alumni was one in a long line of hilarious misfires from Romney's much derided ad team. And now, Coca-Cola has decided to learn from them.

But Romney's team didn't stop with just Ms. Yamaguchi. A giant lineup of former Olympic medalists were hoisted on stage for the 2012 Republican National Convention, including our very own Scott Hamilton. The Democratic National Convention went with just one. Guess which one got more press?

See, people don't want that old, busted stuff. They want that new new. Powerful young athletes with more medals to look forward to are scintillating, bursting with possibilities and hope. Old athletes whose glory is in the past make people think of decay, entropy and the inevitable breakdown of the human body that dooms us all, Olympians and mortals alike. Coke already tastes a bit medicinal. Do they really want to strengthen the association by putting granny Kwan on the cans? :biggrin:

This is a bit ridiculous.

There's a big difference in how people vote for POTUS v. deciding what to drink at McD (or whatever).

I don't vote for POTUS because he has cool friends or great ads. I vote for whoever I believe is going to do the best job for the economy, domestic & foreign issues that are important to me. Given the crappy economy and employment situation, many people were not voting for the guy who has the highest number of famous friends. They were voting for who they thought would be better for helping them. Candidates campaign for MONTHS, and people take some time to make a decision on who to vote for.

For something like a drink choice? It's either a matter of preference or snap decision. It takes most people a minute or two at a restaurant or supermarket. I like Coke Zero when I have meat or burgers, so I might pick up a bottle if I'm making burgers for dinner. I prefer red wine with my steak, if dining at a really nice restaurant.

Good advertising helps people become AWARE of brands/products out there (aka their options). That doesn't mean good advertising = automatic purchasing decision. But in a situation where people aren't sure, they may try the one they saw on TV because they heard about it and it might be good v. something they never heard of before.
 

kwanatic

Check out my YT channel, Bare Ice!
Record Breaker
Joined
May 19, 2011
Someone has to say it: Kwan's advertising potential as a skating legend is way overrated. Take the example of another skating legend: The last major ad campaign Kristi Yamaguchi was in was a campaign ad for Mitt Romney. *sadtrombone* Casting faded skaters and Dancing with the Stars alumni was one in a long line of hilarious misfires from Romney's much derided ad team. And now, Coca-Cola has decided to learn from them.

But Romney's team didn't stop with just Ms. Yamaguchi. A giant lineup of former Olympic medalists were hoisted on stage for the 2012 Republican National Convention, including our very own Scott Hamilton. The Democratic National Convention went with just one. Guess which one got more press?

See, people don't want that old, busted stuff. They want that new new. Powerful young athletes with more medals to look forward to are scintillating, bursting with possibilities and hope. Old athletes whose glory is in the past make people think of decay, entropy and the inevitable breakdown of the human body that dooms us all, Olympians and mortals alike. Coke already tastes a bit medicinal. Do they really want to strengthen the association by putting granny Kwan on the cans? :biggrin:

Your comparison is irrelevant to the situation. Romney's campaign runners made a myriad of mistakes, the least of which was trying to promote the party with past figure skaters. Coke isn't trying to run for ruler of the free world...they're just trying to sell drinks at the Olympics.

If there were a better choice for a sponsor I'm sure Coke would have chosen that person...but out of all the available young, vibrant and scintillating athletes the US has, the fact of the matter is granny Kwan still has more star power than all of them combined. :)
 

w_darling

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
thank you for the welcome, mathman! as a relatively new fan, i don't always feel confident in my (small) knowledge of the technical aspects or even how to wholly articulate why i might prefer one skater's program to another's on a more artistic/emotional level but i felt that as an average U.S. consumer i had at least some grounds to talk :p

as for marketability, there is obviously a distinction to be made in "selling" the skater (i.e., promoting the skaters themselves), which i agree with others isn't coke's responsibility, versus trying to use skaters who could attract more sales. to clarify, i simply didn't see how Evan necessarily would promote more sales than any other male skater. and while i disagree with the rather ageist remarks made earlier, there is something to be said for the 15-25 age bracket -- we're more likely to buy relatively cheap items, like a can of soda, sometimes for very silly reasons, which could be an argument in favor for using 'pretty young things' like Max or Gracie. (i very recently bought a bottle of kids' bubbles simply because they were captain america-themed :eek::) on the other hand, if (re)earning a coveted Olympics-related endorsement is a signifier that Evan is taking this comeback seriously, particularly in such an expensive sport, then i wish him all the best. he's not my favorite skater but i didn't intend to sound so negative about him personally, which i realize my previous post might have come off as (sadly, i can't speak for anyone else).

on the matter of Michelle Kwan: she might not be particularly that big of celebrity in more general terms but, as kwanatic has said, Kwan is probably still more well-known than any of the U.S. women competing today, welp...
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
As a relatively new fan, i don't always feel confident in my (small) knowledge of the technical aspects or even how to wholly articulate why i might prefer one skater's program to another's on a more artistic/emotional level but i felt that as an average U.S. consumer i had at least some grounds to talk :p

I have 24,000 posts on this board and i know less about figure skating than anyone here! :laugh:

Serious Business said:
The last major ad campaign Kristi Yamaguchi was in was a campaign ad for Mitt Romney. *sadtrombone* Casting faded skaters and Dancing with the Stars alumni was one in a long line of hilarious misfires from Romney's much derided ad team.

The Republicans' were thinking ahead. Kristi is big with the 4 t0 8 demographic.

http://therookiedad.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/itsabigworldlittlepig.jpg

This will pay off in the 2032 presidential election when the Republicans will have to field someone to run against the Democratic senator from Rhode Island, Clay Pell. (Here Dick Button pledges to wrap up the centenarian vote with his endorsement.)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/01/20/article-2265535-170EB0FF000005DC-839_634x643.jpg
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I have 24,000 posts on this board and i know less about figure skating than anyone here! :laugh:

I'm not sure I have a firm grip on the technical stuff, but it doesn't seem to interfere with my love for skating. Hey, we don't have to audition to be fans! Welcome to the forum, W_Darling.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003

Serious Business

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
Now that's a bold and awesome choice from Samsung. Rather than hem and haw and hedge and ultimately ignore all the eligible female skaters like Coke did, Samsung is forging ahead with Tuktamysheva, despite the fact that the Russian women's field is much more volatile: they have a sizable number of potentially great/horrible competitors vying for just 2 spots. Sure, they could've gone with someone safe and above the fray like Irina Slutskaya, but where's the frisson in that? You can't create buzz without tension, and there's no tension when there's nothing to lose.

Samsung, of course, just got a lot of buzz in the news by buying up 1 million copies of Jay-Z's upcoming album, which will be given free to Samsung Galaxy phone users 3 days ahead of its actual release. This is a company that has a marketing department that likes to go skydiving, while Coca-Cola's marketers prefers yahtzee.

That said, the Samsung group is a horrendously corrupt company, with tendrils all over South Korean society. Their crimes were so flagrant, however, that even in cronyism-plagued Korea, chairman Lee Kun-hee was convicted of corruption and given a suspended prison sentence. He was promptly pardoned by the South Korean president so that he could assist South Korea with its Olympics bid. Hilariously enough, the IOC refused to do any business with him, because god knows the IOC wouldn't want people to think it's corrupt. Lee's pardon still stands.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Someone has to say it: Kwan's advertising potential as a skating legend is way overrated. Take the example of another skating legend: The last major ad campaign Kristi Yamaguchi was in was a campaign ad for Mitt Romney. *sadtrombone* Casting faded skaters and Dancing with the Stars alumni was one in a long line of hilarious misfires from Romney's much derided ad team. And now, Coca-Cola has decided to learn from them.

Wow, I never knew this about Kristi. I'm sorry to say, but it makes me like her less.
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
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Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
Liza would very much fit Samsung's profile though, wouldn't she? A teenage girl wanting to keep in touch with her friends on long journeys, what else would she use but a Samsung Galaxy... etc.

She's young and pretty and funny, she's an elite athlete shooting for the biggest stage of all. Marketing goldmine.

But I seriously think that it really needs to be looked at why men never seem to get the same marketing opportunities. FS is full of handsome men, some with gorgeous personalities, and yet the sponsorships and marketing is always all about the women. The USFSA is especially bad for it - in their eyes, if you're not a woman, no way can you ever be a superstar.
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Winning an OGM is a huge help marketing wise. However, the last real big marketing sueprstar other than Kwan for the US was Dorothy Hamill. In 1980 Fratianne lost the gold to a German and really did not have a strong or recognizable personality or look - Johnny Weir with no medal is far more memorable (good or bad :). 1984 brought another pretty graceful American who lost the gold this time to Witt. She didn't win the gold like Liz Manley in 1988 she lost it. In 1988, we were left with a Carmen that fell flat in Debi Thmas who was heard saying in the kiss and cry it was back to med school. She lost the gold and the silver. She was a disappointment. In 1992 Kristi won gold and really in part because she did so well as a pro really did not have another ice princess to cmpete with for years. Lipinski and Hughes were almost one hit wonders or limited wonder. Kwan with her longetivity of world titles and Cohen who had a personality and skating skills that stood out (grace and flexibility) made them more marektable than OGM Gold and Wagner are beautiful girls but they need the medals.
 

Serious Business

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
But I seriously think that it really needs to be looked at why men never seem to get the same marketing opportunities. FS is full of handsome men, some with gorgeous personalities, and yet the sponsorships and marketing is always all about the women. The USFSA is especially bad for it - in their eyes, if you're not a woman, no way can you ever be a superstar.

I ascribe it to the male gaze theory. The feminist theory/critique that states, rather astutely, that visual media, from paintings to TV commercials, are usually created with the idea that the a man is watching it. It's the idea that women are to be looked at, while men do the looking/leering. This is why women are so often judged on their looks, and the judgment is often unkind. Thus, the idea of dance, of portraying and maneuvering the human body for aesthetic and musical purposes, is deemed the province of the feminine for the dancer, while the audience is masculine. So what happens when the dancer is male? That both upsets the gender paradigm and causes homophobic discomfort. This gender and homosexual anxiety becomes more and more pronounced as female liberation and gay civil rights gained prominence in society. The US went from being a society oblivious to even the most blatant gay subtext, to one that gets hysterical at the mere suspicion of such.

As the objectification of women becomes more balanced, or at least more considered, and as homophobia subsides, it should be easier for male skaters to find sponsorship. And well, according to Wikipedia, "following his win at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, [Evan] Lysacek acquired many sponsors, including Coca-Cola, AT&T, and Ralph Lauren.[78] He also served as a spokesperson for Total Gym." They were rightfully banking on his potential to win the Olympic gold, something Lysacek delivered on. I think the endorsement gap between US men and women will continue to shrink. Unfortunately, so will the endorsements in general, as figure skating's popularity dies in the US. So yeah, sorry US skating dudes, you have made it this far, but we just don't have any money for you guys any more. *sadtrombone*
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Wow, I never knew this about Kristi. I'm sorry to say, but it makes me like her less.

Aw, it shouldn't. Kristi met and worked with Mitt Romney [later Republican candidate for President] at the Salt Lake City Olympics, where Romney was the big enchilada and Kristi was a somewhat lesser enchilada on the same plate. She was impressed by his organizational and administrative acumen, no doubt justly so.

It should come as no surprise that most figure skaters are Republicans, in so far as they have any political views at all. After all, you pretty much have to come from a financially well-to-do family to participate in the sport.

Serious business said:
*sadtrombone*

Sadtrombone doesn't work, right? 18 million failures so far? That's the joke, right?

But I seriously think that it really needs to be looked at why men never seem to get the same marketing opportunities. FS is full of handsome men, some with gorgeous personalities, and yet the sponsorships and marketing is always all about the women. The USFSA is especially bad for it - in their eyes, if you're not a woman, no way can you ever be a superstar.

I do not feel sorry for male athletes. Lebron James make gazillions playing basketball. How much do lady basketballers make?

Of the top fifty richest athletes 0 of them are women.

http://www.celebritynetworth.com/list/top-50-richest-athletes/
 
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karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
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Australia
I do not feel sorry for male athletes. Lebron James make gazillions playing basketball. How much do lady basketballers make?

I meant men in FS, not men in general. I can make the same comparison with our cricket teams. Our men are rubbish and earn millions, our women are unbeatable and earn what?
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Wow, I never knew this about Kristi. I'm sorry to say, but it makes me like her less.

I don't see why. I voted for Obama, but if we don't have a two-party system and mean it, we have a one-party system. Also, Kristi might have supported Romney because of her experience of his managerial skills during the 2002 Olympics. (He can't be held responsible for the French judge.)

On the subject of Kristi as a gold medalists with few sponsors, I remember that situation and always felt bad about it. The most obvious possible reason for it (she was our first Asian-American champ) reflected very poorly on U.S. society or at least on U.S. corporate thinking. I'm glad Kristi has had such a long span as a skater and a public figure that she's reaped some added benefits along the way.
 
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