Public Address | Cafe | Field Theory: All. Black.

Ian Dalziel

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:54:12 +1300

a good deal for them as part of their rehabilitation
out of the red
and onto the black...

Terry Baucher

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:32:56 +1300

To be fair to AIG I can see your point Kyle. It is IMO a good deal for them as part of their rehabiltation (for want of a better word). I just think it is a very poor call by the NZRU.

Kyle Matthews

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:49:25 +1300

Given that sponsorship is a normal part of business, it would seem strange if the various recipients of bailouts stopped doing it. It's just a form of advertising after all.

Terry Baucher

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:14:19 +1300

_I’m not sure why that is a problem?_

Maybe a suggested headline might help "Bailout recipient blows Federal Cash on sports sponsorship"

A lot of Americans are doing it tough right now as a result of the GFC induced recession of which AIG was a colossal casualty receiving a massive…

Kyle Matthews

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:34:40 +1300

In other words AIG was negotiating with the NZRU whilst it was majority owned by the Federal government and had not repaid its loans.

I'm not sure why that is a problem?

Terry Baucher

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:52:26 +1300

The US Treasury still has a 15.9% stake in AIG and the US$182 billion loan was only repaid last month http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/aig-182-billion.aspx

In other words AIG was negotiating with the NZRU whilst it was majority owned by the Federal government and had not repaid its loans. I can only conclude that…

Lea Barker

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:00:05 +1300

And with Adidas standing for "all day I dream about sex" we have a complete paragraph.

What annoys me is the fact that AIG probably wouldn't even exist today if it hadn't been for US taxpayers saving their sorry arses. And now that the US government has sold the ownership…

Kyle Matthews

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:25:45 +1300

Interesting business decision. The NZRU is probably looking for more money to pay their top players and secure their long term future. They probably put a lot more value in their brand in terms of ability to retain McCaw, Carter etc in NZ and in black than in the clean…

Kyle Matthews

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:22:28 +1300

Another kick in the crotch for the people of Christchurch, first the dropping of the Canterbury Clothing Company brand

Given that Canterbury clothing is no longer based in Christchurch that complaint doesn't seem particularly valid. Canterbury abandoned Chch first?

DexterX

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:29:27 +1300

The All Blacks on the side of – "America Is God"

Sorting out the claims in Christchurch can wait – there are bigger fish to fry.

Five Phucking Years – WTF.

Yamis

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:19:53 +1300

Admittedly it's not as bad as the Olympics which is now little more than a marketing vehicle for advertising and brand promotion.

Maybe through your eyes.

I watched a bunch of awesome athletes performing in a range of sports and didn't pay any attention to any sponsorship or advertising. I…

Dave Waugh

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:24:15 +1300

Final nail in the "national representative team" coffin.

Mind you I'm not really all that upset, gave up on watching the game years ago as it ceased to have any personal meaning or relevance to me as a person or as a Kiwi.
It's no longer a sport to me…

Greg Dawson

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:02:57 +1300

careful – IAG isn't AIG, even if both were MIA in CHC and OTT in CDOs

Angus Robertson

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:02:42 +1300

What might AIG stand for?

The US Federal Reserve Bank.

Paul Campbell

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:53:01 +1300

"Am I Gay?" – it will keep the tabloids guessing I guess- more fodder for the telivisio-industrial-complex

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:30:58 +1300

What might AIG stand for? Another Insulting Grab? Another Instance of Greed? Arseholes In Gear?

Daniel Wilton

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:16:50 +1300

I wonder what the likes of Meads, Shelford, Jones and all the other great ex ABs think of this.

probably something old and masogynistic

The problem is too many ex players and failed Dairy Board members in the mix

Pete Sime

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:12:55 +1300

I wonder what the likes of Meads, Shelford, Jones and all the other great ex ABs think of this.

Daniel Wilton

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:10:47 +1300

to be fair AIG can't be too happy with the fack that the lettering looks like a Spotlight iron on Job

Daniel Wilton

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:09:57 +1300

Oh well, the NZRFU screwed the NPC chasing higher revenues. Seriously who wants to watch rugby seven days a week. I really enjoy seeing a team tired from the game they played 3 days ago (that I didn't watch because it was a Tuesday) getting huimped by an equally unimpressive…

Terry Baucher

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:49:18 +1300

Well OK once we've vented our anger what are we going to do about this? I'm all for letting the NZRU know I'm not impressed but actions are louder than words. Cancel our skysports subscriptions? Ask my local club to put up a motion of no confidence? Suggestions?

Gareth Ward

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:43:06 +1300

THIS. IS. UGLY.

Bloody hell...

Terry Baucher

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:42:36 +1300

Thanks Steve, I wondered about that myself. I really despair about NZ management at times. I see the corporate claptrap on the NZRU website melted down my "Bullshit BIngo" detector inside the first few paragraphs.

Steve Barnes

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:33:31 +1300

Another kick in the crotch for the people of Christchurch, first the dropping of the Canterbury Clothing Company brand now selling out to an insurance company that not only was a major mover in the global financial crisis but an underwriter for the industry that caused more damage than the…

Terry Baucher

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:20:04 +1300

Well at least the French know the value of a clean jersey. Seriously, AIG? Does the NZRU not read the papers? How to devalue a brand at one stroke. Monumentally incompetent.

Hadyn Green

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:10:47 +1300

Fuck tradition, fuck sponsorship, fuck everything.
THIS. IS. UGLY.

Terry Baucher

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:58:56 +1300

Of course it's a business. A fucking badly run business IMHO which has opted to destroy its own brand. That's the whole point about this idiocy. If you run a business with a highly valued, internationally recognisable brand, what in fuck's name are you doing taking money from one of…

Paul Campbell

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:48:02 +1300

come on – it's a business – it's all about the money – if you want the past purity and glory of years gone buy you'll have to start a strictly amateur league.

Do it sooner rather than later, before some bright spark claims the game as their intellectual property

BenWilson

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:20:42 +1300

or we could have something that looks like this. Think how ugly the South African jerseys look. Or this trash. Or worse.

and eventually

Terry Baucher

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:41:49 +1300

"Or worse" Ouch! But it's nowhere near as offensive as that England change kit.

Terry Baucher

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:37:21 +1300

A f**king Men to that. Your point about the NFL, in fact pretty much all the major US sports, is very valid. Yes it's a bigger market but it's also about brand protection. Which we hear a lot about when it's convenient.

Reality is the NZRU have been a price-taker…

Rich of Observationz

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:26:36 +1300

it's a New Zealand brand

Of a Japanese multinational (Mitsubishi nowadays, so if you get smashed on Steinies and wrap your Evo round a heatpump outside unit, they've won three ways).

Public Address

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:26:36 +1300

Discussion from blog post.