A Feast For the Eyes: How Voyeurism Enhances Sports Branding
Hand and a brush, little finger flexed out straight. Dab, dab, dab in the paint.
Fingers pressing, going white. Veins pump, wrist whisks back and forth, back and forth.
The brush, a soft whisper against the intonato.
Fingers still pressing. Wrist whisking, back and forth, back and forth. Then stop. Silence.
Brush falls. Exhale.
Look up.
Genesis. Adam, Eve, the Garden and the Flood. Although we’d probably take them, we don’t need Michelangelo’s words, we’ve got his results. Just look up and open your eyes.
Now Michelangelo’s hands haven’t had anything to do with Reebok’s brand resurgence over the past couple of years but the truly artful direction of their new brand content might have you wondering – just look at the latest Miranda Kerr spot or their banned Easytone ad.
Since being bought out by Adidas, Reebok has shifted from an identity as a premium athletic brand (goodbye NFL…) toward a fitness market geared for the everyday gym-rat and powered by the cultish popularity of CrossFit across the US and now Europe. The brand makeover illustrates a conscious downshift from the extravagant to the simple, the professional to the laymen and their marketing has been put in a position to reflect this.
With the simple comes the inspirational – the overweight mother of four who rides Reebok products down the scale, the skinny loner who revamps his life doing CrossFit, a Reebok logo etched on his chest the whole way. All warm, cozy and oh so motivational but let’s face it, the real question is what are we going to look at?
With an apparel industry set to make nearly $130 billion by next year and a sporting industry geared for $145, our global culture is dominated by sports branding. It’s no secret, but the numbers are staggering – something is catching the eyes of consumers and it’s not Joe Schmo running down the street, telling us how badly he wanted to be an astronaut when he was growing up.
Look at the content of leading brands like Nike and Under Armour, consider the amount of people that show up to see March Madness and the World Cup or, dare I say, ponder the success of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition or ESPN’s The Body exclusive – right or wrong, this is an industry you watch, and if your brand, no matter how grounded it fashions itself, doesn’t offer anything for consumers to feast their eyes on, you might as well invest in late night infomercials.
Selling these sport brands has nothing to do with fitness, wellness or competition, if it did, the NFL wouldn’t feature a shirtless, bulging, slow-motion Adrian Peterson on its commercials. No, these brands thrive on excitement, voyeurism and the fetishing of, not the perseverance and hard work that sports and fitness require, but the body caught in the act. Motion. Strain. Physical images that draw out mental reactions. And we’ve heard it before that sex sells but this isn’t just about sex, it’s about captivating and provoking the human mind, whatever it takes, and we, friends and neighbors, are visual beings who see first, think second. So whether it’s a scantily clad model or a child at the edge of a diving board, sports branding content better have something for the eyes and it better provoke a reaction in the mind.
So hats off to Reebok, or should I say Adidas Group, for carving itself a niche in a new “every man” market and, if Ms. Kerr and that catalog of hinies are any indicator, developing brand material that greases this market for the voyeur and distances itself from vague spots like Jimmy No Name hitting the pavement.
But they’re not there yet, Reebok still has much to learn from the giants of their industry. So as Reebok calls in their best Michelangelo impersonators to craft more exciting marketing campaigns, they could do worse than taking some cues from the best, most voyeuristic spots of recent years.
Adidas – #thereturn
The drama and anticipation surrounding Derrick Rose’s first knee injury permeated the sports world and plagued anxious fans with all the usual what’s, when’s and if’s over his recovery. Adidas made the genius move of exploiting this hubbub by chronicling Rose’s recovery process in an exclusive marketing campaign that featured real-life, in the trenches footage of his life. Reality TV + Injured star athlete + Mystery over his return = marketing royalty.
Under Armour – #I WILL, Bryce Harper
You’ve got to think that when Under Armour came to Bryce Harper and asked him if he wanted lots of money to feature in his own marketing spot, he simply replied with, “That’s a clown question, bro.” Well, it looks like Under Armour forwent the clown theme for more of a rave motif, showcasing a shirtless Harper huffing and puffing with a glow-in-the-dark dumbbell set. It’s an odd shift from the rest of the commercial’s traditional nature but it definitely catches the eye.
Nike – The Secret Tournament
Well done by Nike for getting the beautiful game some major marketing airtime with this clever concept that fetishizes the very best of what soccer fans so passionately love. An exclusive, secret, once-in-a-lifetime competition? How about it. The best players in the world? Now we’re talking. A small-sided display of step-overs, rainbows and bicycle kicks that leads to lots of scoring? Best. Soccer commercial. Ever.
Nike – For Warriors
Okay, okay, Nike is already listed but this commercial is too good not to be mentioned. Let’s face it, Nike knows what it’s doing when it comes to pushing their brand. If the opening, split-second images of this ad don’t get your subconscious going, just wait till the end when the masks come out. Remember, these voyeuristic trends in sports branding aren’t about sex, they’re about provoking the mind with visual stimulants, and this little gem from Nike is (creepily) full of those.