One of the most common forms of advertising in the area of
sports merchandise and apparel is the celebrity endorsement, or more
specifically the professional athlete endorsement. These are beneficial to both
sides, as the company gets to associate their products with some of the best
athletes in their respective sports, and the athletes get extra sources of
income from these deals. Companies have learned to make effective use of the
hype surrounding athletes as well, piggybacking on the excitement of fans to
generate interest in their products.
Recently, companies such as Adidas have even started
capitalizing on athletes before they even make the professional level. The best
and most recent example of this is quarterback Robert Griffon III formerly of
Baylor. In fact, after declaring for the NFL draft, Robert Griffon III (known
as RG3) managed to earn more than any NFL rookie in history before even throwing his first pass in the league.
For those not familiar with RG3 and the situation in
Washington, the reason so much hype is surrounding this young player is because
of what he means to the city and the Redskins organization. He is considered
the “hope of the city” for football fans, and a player that will lead them out
of their championship drought. This is the perfect environment for a sports
icon to develop. However, at the end of this year’s season RG3 suffered a
severe knee injury. Now, as he may be poised to return to the field, he has
been featured in another advertisement:
The story does not end there however. Shortly after this ad,
RG3 took to Twitter to state that he would not return to play before he felt ready
to do so:
Feel like I need to say this..Although my goal is to start Week 1, that doesn't mean I will compromise my career to do so.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 19, 2013
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a player’s
advertisement has put pressure on their professional careers.
A very similar example we have is Derrick Rose, an NBA star
and member of the Chicago Bulls. In the post Michael Jordan era, the Bulls have
struggled to perform until the college star from Memphis came to the NBA. Rose,
also having suffered from a knee injury, appeared in a similar commercial:
As of now, Rose has still not returned to NBA competition.
Now, the question remains should athletes place unnecessary expectations on
themselves simply for the sake of advertising?
I think it's always a risk partnering with an advertising company especially when you're a professional athlete. There's risks in taking on a pro athlete. First, athletes have been known to get in trouble. Having someone with previous history could jeopardize your brand as an advertiser. Athletes get injured all the time. It something that brands should anticipate almost. They should know exactly what the risk is by signing with an athlete. While an athlete could end up getting hurt for a number of months, I do not see that as a reason to drop the athlete from advertising for a particular brand.
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