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Hush-hush branding in the world’s most prestigious sporting arena
“Quiet Please!” It is not just the crowds, even brands advertising at Wimbledon follow this instruction.
The world’s oldest tennis tournament is probably the only place where brands don’t scream from the rooftops. They would be hushed up immediately. So if brands want to advertise, they have to be subtle and be very creative about it.
IBM, which has been advertising since 1990, is the technology partner. But that technology is not in-your-face, it is pretty well-hidden. Concealing Hawk-eye cameras, for instance, has to be done cleverly. And if the cameras have to stop obstructing pristine sightlines and not ruin the garden ambience, it has to be done creatively too. Hawk-eye cameras on courts are cloaked in green.
Slazenger which provides the balls for tournament melds into the Wimbledon background unobtrusively. The Evian logo is visible only under the umpire’s chair or on its bottles. Rolex has its logo next to the digital clock on the scoreboard.
Most brands are happy to respect the Wimbledon brand. They seem to be happier to play second fiddle.