Having to purchase a new pair of sunglasses for rowing has been a harrowing task for a number of reasons. Firstly, have you seen how unattractive those sports sunnies are? Or maybe it’s just me! And some of the colours – oh dear, flouro is so in right now. No it’s not! Brand choice is overwhelming. Third or is that fifth! I have such a small face, that the sunnies swim on me and I look like a wanna-be celebrity in L.A wearing Posh Spice glasses. It’s just wrong.
It goes without saying that mega-sports brands really do know their target audiences. For example (insert any brand here)… Adidas, Nike and Oakley have sunnies for cycling, snow activities and what I wanted, water fun. And then just general public sunnies.
Often if you ‘belong’ to a sporting group, you need to look the part to fit in, or sadly, be accepted by that group. Take cyclists for example. If you are not dressed in lycra head to toe or have special shoes, you may not be taken seriously. OK, we all start off saying, I’ll never wear those padded bike shorts… but hey, once we start riding long(er) distances, we realise that those PEARL iZUMi padded pants rock! I even wear them now when I ride to work which admittedly is on my mountain bike and only about a 15 minutes ride! Yes, serious bike-heads scoff at me. No wonder I don’t belong to a club! And then there is what brand of bike you should own. You would be kept broke if you kept up with The Jones’ in that sport. And ultimately, your bike helps dictate how fast you go: which is very important. I’m not a biker, but brands including PEARL iZUMi, dhb and GORE know their cyclist audience needs. But Nike and Adidas are up there as well.
The running crowd also has their best choice brands. Clothes that keep you ultra dry, running shoes with the most support. AFL, golf, tennis, cricket… all sports have their favourite brand. Which their supporters see and often follow by wearing those same brands.
After all, brands have been telling us for a long time now that we can ‘Just Do It’ (as if you didn’t know – Nike) and ‘Impossible is Nothing’ from Adidas. They are very motivational tag lines. And whether we are at the top of our sport or a person who likes to keep fit or compete, these words do play at the back of our mind, especially when we want to stop or give up.
Do we need to see David Beckham with Adidas stripes all over him. Maybe not, but he certainly has been a great ambassador for the brand. Snoop Dog on the other hand could be questionable!
Psychology plays a large role in these sporting brands. Reebok’s ‘I am what I am’ line actually makes sense to the every day sports hero, as in their mind, they don’t have to be as good as The Fed Express or the top athletes that Nike sponsor. A bit of trivia for you, Reebok sponsored Greg Norman back in the 90s and also made history by signing the first ever non sportsperson Jay-Z back in 2003. Speaking of Reebok, one of my favourite clips that cracks me up every time I watch it from Wayne’s World with Garth wearing Reebok talking about Product Placement.
The good thing about being old(er) is that you really don’t have to buy all of the brands to belong to a group. However, as the old saying goes, “It’s all marketing dahlingk” and you may get caught up in the hype of acceptance and wanting to fit in, or the excitement of not only the sport but belonging to a group of like-minded individuals. And if you look the part it really doesn’t matter if you can’t swing the golf club, win the cycle race, jump the farthest or run the fastest.
Oh so what did I buy? It came down to size. I know you really want to know what sunnies I bought… Oakley Flak Jackets (how cool is that name)? I wanted blue to match my club colours (yeah I am a girl after all)!
A little bit of luck 