I attended a whitecaps game last Saturday and was surprised with the amount of alcoholic advertising that was present during a sporting event. Thinking back at the food and beverage area of the stadium I am ableto remember what beer brand (Budweiser) was available as it was so clearly and broadly advertised but not what soft drink company (Pepsi vs. coke) was being sold as there was little promotion of soft drinks. Before the game and during half time at least 50% of the ad’s were alcoholic adds, not only the commercials but the advertisement boards around the pitch were also of alcohol (el Jimador). Looking up whitecaps sponsors however, I find that only 2 out of 34 of its partnersare of alcohol beverage companies. Although it may seem ironic to be mixing alcohol with sports I usually understand that beer and alcohol companies are directly targeting young males. This is especially clear with leagues such as champions league advertising Heineken, but at the whitecaps game I saw a much greater range of ages and genders I felt that other advertisements may have been more appropriate and suiting for the audience of the game.
sources:
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/partners
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/sites/vancouver/files/imagecache/620×350/sites/whitecapsfc.com/files/image_nodes/2011/01/Budweiser.jpg
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/sites/vancouver/files/imagecache/620×350/image_nodes/2013/06/2013_06_28_bud.png