Monday, April 4, 2011

Where do we draw the lines with advertisements?

MMA fighters have to make a living.  Besides battling for a pay day inside the cage fighters have to find companies willing to advertise and show monetary support for a fighter.  Most fighters represent their respective advertisers as they make their slow approach through the arena.  The camera zooms in on the Tapout, MMA ELITE, and Affliction hoodies and hats.  As the fighters are introduced posters with their names and all their supporting advertisers swing in the background.  When the fight finally begins we are subjected to the logos on their trunks and the cage/mat itself.  Advertisements are big business.  We need them to help provide funds for the fighters and support the organizations.  Without proper financial support most fighters will fail to find adequate training and nutrition.  This is vastly over looked and it is assumed that because you are on television you are rich.  Most fighters do not fight for the UFC.  Most are working class guys and young men trying to chase a dream.  Working a full-time job and trying to train like an elite athlete is not conducive to producing the results we would expect from a professional athlete.  The higher your profile as a fighter the better advertisements you receive. I hope for the day of a single NIKE swoosh on the back of a pair of trunks.  Everything that needed to be said about a fighter could be said in that one icon.  This fighter is sponsored by Under Armour so he must be good.  This fighter is sponsored by KFC he must like chicken.  I dread the day corporate conglomerate machines like Starbucks sink their teeth into the world of MMA.  It is bound to happen maybe not anytime soon, but as the sport grows so will the interest in prospective advertisers looking to tap into the 18-35 year old male demographic.  


1 comment:

  1. The unfortunate reality of today. I think some of it is that MMA is relatively a new sport as well, so they have to find what is acceptable regarding advertisements. NASCAR fans don't care that they can't see the color of their favorite racers car. If it becomes to overwhelming or distracting, MMA fans have to vote with their dollars.

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