With Abhinav Bindra creating history at the Beijing Olympics, associations, governments and sponsors are queuing up to shower the monies. But experts say, while the winner will pick up a lot of adulation, the sport will get overshadowed and sponsors in India will continue to push the buck only on cricket, followed by football. Devraj Sanyal, CEO, Percept D?Mark, which is also into sports marketing and celebrity endorsements, said that only 5% of the advertisers’ money is spent on football, while other sports, including wrestling, weightlifting, athletics, archery and others are yet to open an account with advertisers. ?As of now, these sports will continue to get funded by associations and governments,” said Sanyal. Even when Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the Olympic silver for shooting in Athens Olympics 2004, he got a couple of endorsements, a car, some money and also the coveted Padma Shri award. Said Sanyal, ?But did his victory open up opportunities for shooting as a sports in India? The answer is no.?
Recently, Tata Indicom launched a television commercial, which revolves around an athlete. Media planners feel that the company could have used some known athlete rather than an unknown face. A senior advertising professional, who didn?t want to be named, said, ?Advertisers in India would happily spend more monies on the Chak De hockey team rather than the actual woman?s hockey team in India.?
The planner also added, ?If one needs to have a photogenic face along with aptitude, then Indian athlete Anju Bobby George is exactly not Ugly Betty.? George was the first Indian athlete who won the bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris and also won the silver medal at the IAAF World Athletics Final in 2005.
Abdul Khan, president, marketing, Tata Indicom said, ?While the girl used in the commercial may not be as famous as George but her running style and certificates shown in the commercial adds an element of authenticity.? He also added, ?It is really sad to see that it takes a gold medal to attract advertisers and sponsors. It’s only after such a victory that we sit up and take notice of the winner.?