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Sporting sign wars: advertising and the contested terrain of sporting events and venues

2005; Inderscience Publishers; Volume: 1; Issue: 1/2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1504/ijsmm.2005.007119

1740-2808

Jay Scherer, Michael P. Sam, Richard Batty,

Media, Gender, and Advertising

Local sporting stadia exist as sought-after promotional platforms for multinational corporations to associate their brands with major international mega-sporting events. However, in conjunction with a global climate of corporate sign wars (Goldman and Papson, 1996) and the continued threat of ambush marketing, these sporting spaces exist as contested terrains where a range of power relations are effectively played out at the global-local nexus. In this paper, we examine issues pertaining to ambush marketing and the brand protection/clean venue policies employed by local organising committees in two case studies: the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 1999 FIFA Under-17 World Soccer Championships in New Zealand. We identify similar strategies utilised at both sporting events to protect official sponsors while discussing some of the implications of these issues on the lived experiences of spectators and citizens who are inevitably connected to the wider structures of power operating within and through these local sporting spaces.