I am sure that the athletic apparel giants are delighted with the results the past two days as the big name clubs they sponsor emerged victorious in both semi-finals. First FC Barcelona managed, despite plenty of ill-tempered exchanges and controversy, to slip past rivals Real Madrid in one semi-final (more on those two soon) and then today the biggest club in England, Manchester United, handily finished off their over-matched German opponents, Schalke 04.
Though the brand war between between Adidas (not coincidentally the sponsor/equipment provider for both Madrid and Schalke) and Nike may not seem as heated in the U.S. as it was in the mid to late 90s, when Adidas briefly threatened Nike's Air Jordan-induced hegemony on the basketball court*, it has certainly not died**. In fact, the inverse scenario has been true on the football pitch, as Nike started in the mid nineties to pull out all the stops, including the clandestine inking of a massive sponsorship deal with the Brazilian national team, in hopes of breaking Adidas' choke hold on the world football market. Fifteen years later that battle is as intense as ever.*** Nike has made some huge strides but is still struggling to end the dominance of the competitor that has remained the world's premier football company since founder Adi Dassler introduced screw-in studs for the West German national team in the mid 50s. With that established, this is a significant coup for the American company, as they now will have sole possession of center stage advertising in one of the most watched television events in the world.****
Well, almost sole possession.
Nike's plan of attack in conquering world soccer has been clear from the beginning, quality over quantity. "We may not get a lot, but we will get what sells most." It's a strategy that has been largely successful. In addition to long term sponsorship deals with the U.S. national team (the home market)and Brazil (perennial favorites at international tournaments, base of an international diaspora, international following), Nike has dealt with other notable national teams like Holland (runners up in South Africa) and Mexico (the other home market). Of equal or perhaps greater import, however, are the conspicuous swooshes worn by some of the most recognizable club sides in the world like Manchester United, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, and Celtic. Since these teams play far more often than national teams do, they offer more consistent opportunities to cash in. Add to that individual sponsorship deals with big names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and the now aging Ronaldinho and if you're Nike, you have quite the stable of advertising thoroughbreds for all seasons. However, even when rolling out a seemingly all-Nike affair like the Champions' League final in question, things are not quite so simple or so one-sided. For example, the UEFA Champions' League uses only specially made and officillay licensed Adidas match balls*****,so the competition won't be out of the picture completely. But even with that accommodation Nike probably feels pretty good about itself. The more troubling matter is when individual and team sponsorships collide. For example, when Lionel Messi, undoubtedly the most famous player in the world, walks onto the Wembley pitch for Barca, his kit will be made by Nike, but his boots will unmistakably evidence his personal sponsorship deal with Adidas. No doubt both sides will try to make the most they can out of/off of that. So even though Nike won't have to worry about the result of the match****** it can't quite win them all, either.
*And other American sports where Nike had successfully used the same big-star marketing approach (i.e. Baseball with Ken Griffey Jr.). This was an especially interesting time on the hardwood as Fila (Grant Hill) and Reebok (Allen Iverson) also attempted to carve out part of the basketball market for themselves, but the big competition remained between Nike (Jordan, the incumbent; Barkley; Kidd; etc.) and Adidas (Kobe Bryant, later Tracy McGrady). Certainly only Nike sought to get into the world football market, where they easily flew past smaller players in that arena like Puma, Diadora, etc.
** Seen any commercials lately? In addition to ensemble casts of sports stars, Adidas, though not the only one using this move, has been especially aggressive in trying to cross over to pop-culture figures to boost American sales (Katy Perry, B.O.B). I could go on, but I won't.
*** Watch any commercials during the last World Cup?
**** In the US, The Champions' League Final live from Wembley can be viewed on Fox with coverage starting at 2pm eastern time on Saturday, May 28.
***** Fortunately Adidas has a much better track record with these than with their specially designed world cup balls, like the ill-fated Jubalani last summer.
****** In the 1998, 2002, and 2010 World Cups Nike sponsored sides faced off against Adidas sponsored competition in what added a commercial aspect of globalization to the sporting one most readily noticed. In '98 and 2010 Adidas won (France, which is now sponsored by Nike, over Brazil; Spain over The Netherlands). In 2002 Nike got the better of the deal with Brazil beating the Germans.
