At the moment, it doesn’t actually need one. Anglo-Dutch company Unilever have withdrawn a Flora margarine advert in South Africa after it was condemned as homophobic. There’s a dearth of openly gay male players at the level that usually get Nike’s attention.
Meanwhile, in the NFL, several gay football players are mulling a joint announcement, according to former Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo, a gay-rights advocate.Īt the moment, this is all hypothetical. Just this week, the NHL and its corresponding union signed a pact with the You Can Play advocacy group, becoming the first major men’s league to make inclusion an official policy. Indeed, gay rights are gaining momentum in the don’t-ask-don’t-tell world of sports. “In some ways,” he says, “people will wonder: ‘Why didn’t this happen sooner?’” Matt Powell, a sports retail analyst at Sportsonesource, says a campaign built around a gay athlete would particularly be a hit with younger consumers, Nike’s target market. An endorsement story that goes beyond a square jaw and superstats makes an emotional connection - a Holy Grail for marketers. It might be hard to admire a fallen athlete, but it’s easy to like a company that has the boardroom bravado to back him.Īnd the ads themselves - love them or hate them - are memorable. Indirectly, they connect with a huge segment - consumers tired of carefully crafted corporate speak. the tiny group of people who weren’t put off by LeBron’s PR stunt). The classic Hamlet cigar ad Credit: SWNS:South West News Service. Those kinds of ads may resonate directly only with a small demographic (i.e. But we live in confusing times, because now researchers are saying ad men have overshot the mark. The company, which is locked into at least $856 million in endorsement payments this year, has never been afraid to go on offence when others are playing it safe.