sellgp
No Image Manipulation here?
There are not a lot of overlaps between the West Coast American website Sailing Anarchy and SWS. (but I still love it!) Occasionally they have been good enough to republish some of our content… and when they do, we get a big spike.
But reading the article below made me realise that there are perhaps more synergies than we realise. The first descriptor I would use when talking about our values would be “authenticity”.
This week’s story in Sailing Anarchy from “anarchist David” nails the topic!
Just a fortnight before their next event the SailGP circus and their sponsors have thrown the switch to hucksterism. They bought five full pages of advertising, including the back cover, of the color magazine The Weekend Australian, Rupert Murdoch’s national newspaper. It’s a full-court spruik for the races to be sailed on Sydney Harbour on February 24-25.
Promoting an event and its supporters is standard practice, and major sponsors often budget as much for associated publicity and public relations as they spend on the sponsorship itself. But there’s a faint air of desperation about this huge advertising buy. Clearly, SailGP are yet to break into the sporting big leagues, or to sell as many spectator packages as they’d like.
KPMG, the multi-national accounting and management consultancy, are name sponsors for the Sydney series. Whether they could attract any extra local business through their association with SailGP is doubtful. But it is a novel opportunity to lavish some corporate hospitality on their clients, and at least the KPMG exposure is low-key – simple naming rights recognition, and signage kept within sensible proportions.
But the Genesis car brand is another matter altogether. The multi-page advertising package is in their name. Genesis is a battery-powered range of four-wheelers positioned at the luxury end of the market. The EVs are made by the South Korean automotive giant Hyundai and the sticker price of a basic model in Australia is quoted as “from $106,375”. That “from” is so artfully noncommittal.
The naked commercialism of SailGP and its sponsors is revealed in a single, gross misjudgment. They have again taken it upon themselves to rename Shark Island, in the middle of Sydney Harbour, as “Genesis Island”. That small outcrop has been known as Shark Island since white settlement in 1788 (and Boowamillee or Boambille to the Indigenous occupants for millennia before that). The presumption is appallingly arrogant and insensitive. It would be like renaming Mount Rushmore as Mount Honda.
The mere plebs are asked to fork out for “the Genesis Island experience” (tickets “from $250” per day – there’s that word “from” again). But this year they can upgrade to the “luxury VIP experience” which includes drinks delivered to your reserved seat.
Reality check No.1: this is on an island that is a public reserve administered and maintained by the taxpayer-funded National Parks and Wildlife Service. Anyone has a right to be there. Next, if you want to watch the racing from the water there’s the “Bring Your Own Boat” option for a mere $1,500. Reality check No.2: that’s on Sydney Harbour which is, of course, a public waterway. Meanwhile, sailing clubs have been forced to change their courses or race start times to accommodate the Coutts/Ellison demolition derby. That the relevant authorities acceded to all this blatant for-profit appropriation of public assets is outrageous.
Ah, but I hear you say, surely this is balanced by SailGP’s wonderful green credentials? Genesis obviously sees value in linking themselves with SailGP’s self-proclaimed “Powered by Nature” sustainability claims. “Racing with purpose is at the heart of SailGP’s mission” says the advertising feature. Is there racing without purpose?
The text goes on to assert that they strive to be “the world’s most sustainable and purpose-driven global sports and entertainment platform”. The Genesis company says they will therefore be “offsetting the carbon footprint of island guests each race day”. How they could ever hope to measure that footprint, let alone offset it, is left unsaid.
Meanwhile, we’re meant to ignore the massive amounts of fossil fuels burnt transporting the F50 catamarans, their crews, support staff, and equipment to 13 locations around the world every year, let alone by the chase boats and helicopters used for the TV coverage that gives the sponsoring brands their exposure.
The torrent of effusive advertising wordage promises “a most magical weekend on Sydney Harbour”. If by “magic” they mean conjuring tricks, then I can only agree.
More AI Imagery?