Well, this is lame.
According to the International Olympic Committee’s rule 41, competitors who participate in the Olympics can’t have their person/likeness be used for advertising purposes during the Olympics.
Wow. Thanks IOC for letting snowboarding scratch your back but not the other way around.
True, snowboarding in the Olympics gives it a presences on television that no other event does. But without their sponsors, ranging from energy drink brands to actual snowboard companies, these guys wouldn’t be where they are today.
That private half-pipe built for gold medalist Shaun White, paid for by Red Bull, helped Shaun train and compete at the level he did at the games. Other brands’ support of their team riders is equally important, not only to the riders success, but the activity of snowboarding itself. These brands support the media that support snowboarding and with that, the culture. Heck, those brands that support snowboarding or other super gnarly extreme uber-radical action sports support BBPR, and we’re incredibly thankful for that.
While I’m not personally entrenched or knowledgeable in activities such as bobsledding or skiing aerials, I’d argue that there’s less of a global community and media presence surrounding those two sports… at least here in the US. Is that because the activities are harder to become a part of? Possibly… there aren’t very many bobsled tracks compared to ski resorts.
So what’s your take? Should the IOC let the brands that have helped snowboarding promote their efforts during the Olympics? Maybe the IOC should start paying royalties to the athletes, then we could eliminate the sponsors altogether?
BTW – if you’re looking for a neat take on action sports in general, check out our friends at South of the North. Tell’em BBPR sent you and you’ll get a 15 percent mark-up tacked onto on their new t-shirts. Oh, the earlier image came from the fine folks @ Boardistan, which is also a good read, but lacks a presence in the t-shirt market.
