As I watched the much anticipated Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley Welterweight title match on Pay-Per-View last weekend, my brain was inundated with all the advertising and branding posted everywhere from the shorts of the fighters to the ring itself. Many companies took advantage of the wide viewership of this fight to advertise their products and services on a global scale. To specialized companies, this could serve as one of the biggest stages to introduce new products and build name recognition. RYU (Respect Your Universe, Inc.), for example, decided to sponsor Super Bantamweight Boxing Champion Teon Kennedy who was part of the undercard for the Pacquiao vs. Bradley fight. RYU wanted to introduce their new men’s spring performance line including compression tops and hoodies, and their advertising prevalence at this major sporting event was intended to draw people to the brand’s website and stores in hopes that they would purchase the new products (www.marketwatch.com).
In addition to the advertising at lower levels during the event, Pacquiao proudly supported his sponsors such as Nike and Ricoa on his trunks during the bout to create ultimate exposure for those brands. In fact, Pacquiao has used his celebrity to become a prime endorser for a variety of products and services throughout his career, even though he started in a rough position.
Pacquiao, 33, is a high school dropout who lifted his family out of poverty through boxing. In the 1990s, he fought for purses as small as 150 pesos ($3.50) — then about the cost of a T-shirt in the Philippines. Today he’s the richest Philippine congressman, surpassing Imelda Marcos, with a net worth inflated by TV appearances and endorsing products with the Nike, Hennessy Cognac and HP brands (Batino, 2012).
Photograph by: Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images
In fact, Nike created a revolutionary, state-of-the-art “wardrobe” for Pacquiao to wear during the fight, and this commitment to him as an endorser not only allowed him to fight at his very best, but it allowed Nike to showcase new products which they have been designing over the past few years. Everything from the trunks to his T-shirt had a special purpose and was designed with him in mind. The trunks, for example, were “MP Fight Night Trunks which featured technical fabrication at a light weight. With fabric made of 100% recycled polyester, using an average of 9 recycled plastic bottles, these trunks adhere to Nike’s commitment to serving the needs of the athlete and the planet at the same time. Recycled polyester textiles, which can be made from used beverage bottles, have lower energy use, less raw materials extraction and less waste compared to traditional, virgin polyester fiber. At 18% lighter than ever before, just over 6 ounces total, the shorts are designed for zero distractions in the ring” (www.finchannel.com). The T-shirt he wore was 100% organic cotton which was grown and harvested “without the use of synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers or defoliants” (www.finchannel.com). These, in addition to the other innovative technologies Nike used for Pacquiao’s fight attire are likely the new era in boxing wardrobes, so it will be interesting to see if the product placement at this controversial and high-level boxing match proved successful for Nike as an advertiser and brand.
Pacquio’s massive success is a testament to his hard work and dedication, and it is no doubt that advertisers have capitalized on his successes to bring attention to their products and services over the years. For last weekend’s fight, one would be hard pressed to look in one direction without seeing some sort of advertisement or endorsement, and this seems to be a bright move for those in the boxing world or closely related to it as a way to generate product exposure in an outside-the-box fashion without relying solely on commercials and billboards to supplement their campaigns.
Batino, C. (2012, June 10). Controversial Pacquiao vs Bradley result angers boxing fans around the world. The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved on June 14, 2012 from http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Controversial+Pacquiao+Bradley+result+angers+boxing+fans+around+world/6759686/story.html
5 Responses to Outside-the-Box