April 9, 2001

9:16 AM

Gimmie a N-I-K-E! Okay, so this newest bit of marketing brilliance is just a proposal at this point, but it does raise the question "where will it end"? And considering that the athletes and venues themselves are already covered in logos, slapping a few on the cheerleaders seems relatively trivial.

Of course it's just not in sports. This February those of us in Seattle were treated to the sight of an enormous "Microsoft Xp Operating System" flag flying from the top of the Space Needle. The biggest outrage, to my mind, was the fact that no one in town seemed outraged in the slightest. Have we given up?
posted by Shadowkeeper (14 comments total)

Since naming children after commercial entities and tattooing corporate logos on athletes (how did we miss that topic?) both seem to be acceptable, my bet is that short of scratching corporate logos on the insides of people's eyelids there ain't nowhere we won't accept seeing an ad.
posted by briank at 9:43 AM on April 9, 2001

where will it end?

When you wake up and hear "The preceding dream was brought to you by Monsanto and your local Coca Cola Bottling Company."
posted by mathowie at 10:27 AM on April 9, 2001

Isn't that where Dark Angel lives?
posted by thirteen at 10:33 AM on April 9, 2001

When you wake up and hear "The preceding dream was brought to you by Monsanto and your local Coca Cola Bottling Company."

Futurama already covered that. *grin* Looks like we're doomed! ;-)
posted by thunder at 10:34 AM on April 9, 2001

Yessssss!!!

I predicted this a year ago.

Now, let's see if the 2nd part of th' prediction comes true:
That this will trickle down to you and I; get paid $500 dollars a year to prominently display NIKE on your forehead.
posted by sonofsamiam at 12:27 PM on April 9, 2001

That this will trickle down to you and I; get paid $500 dollars a year to prominently display NIKE on your forehead.

Why would they do that? They're used to getting people to pay them $500 to display Nike logos.

(personally, i don't care how much advertising there is in sports, becaus i don't watch sports. i would suggest that any of you leftists who are disturbed by this should do the same. but that's just that i hate sports.)
posted by dagnyscott at 1:54 PM on April 9, 2001

No, the flag is just the first tangible step in the corporation-as-government evolution that every science fiction writer has been warning us about for the last 80 or 90 years.

Now repeat after me: the Company is your friend... the Company is your friend...
posted by teradome at 2:34 PM on April 9, 2001

Although I can't for the life of me find the reference online (I'm pretty sure it was a Vonngeut book), this thread reminds me of the idea that in the future, the correct answer to the question "How are you today?" will be "Pepsi".

BTW, what's with the link? I can't get it. Anyone else having problems?
posted by fooljay at 3:21 PM on April 9, 2001

What I love is that they're debuting this advertising barnburner at an XFL game... which clearly means that they're not ready for more than about 10 or 20 people to see it.
posted by delfuego at 3:36 PM on April 9, 2001

This is problem much more linked to people's soullessness than any advertiser's depravity. How is it the inside of bathroom stalls and elevators has stayed relatively advertising-free?
posted by ParisParamus at 3:43 PM on April 9, 2001

What I love is that they're debuting this advertising barnburner at an XFL game

Actually, it's an Arena Football League 2 game. [cue Letterman music] Let's play . . . Know your alternative football leagues!

(Lincoln won, btw.)
posted by iceberg273 at 4:00 PM on April 9, 2001

When Windows 95 was released, Microsoft had a huge banner rolled down the side of the CN Tower. That was also a blight on the landscape.
posted by cCranium at 7:09 AM on April 10, 2001

Advertising in bathrooms you say?
posted by owillis at 9:21 AM on April 10, 2001