Sometimes you have to wonder about the legitimacy of certain new stories, and whether or not they’re published on the merit of public interest, or just blatant promotion. Obviously, a great number of political pieces are generated based on the latter.
The NRL always has a yarn. You could argue the league keeps several Australian media bodies afloat with the amount of content it churns out. That’s why it prompts a scratch of the noggin when rugby league again becomes embroiled in activity as dubious in relevancy, as promoting betting odds mid-game.
The NRL is enjoying a rebirth in a way, finally removed from the endless scandal which wrapped itself like the proverbial albatross around the sport’s neck in recent years, and is focusing more than ever on the fans. So, despite some contentious tackles in round one, 2012 should be a good year, right?
But then come the tabloid stories, like the Panthers’ latest, “Fridge-gate”, in which the club is being accused of taking sponsorship too far by placing a fridge stocked with Oak milk, directly behind a press conference table last weekend.
As expected, David Gallop and the NRL still want the fridge removed from Penrith’s media centre, so the Panthers have employed security guards to watch over the appliance.
The main point here is that the Panthers are simply ensuring their viability as a sports club in a saturated Australian sporting market. Instead of cardboard signage they went with a fridge. Big deal. It’s advertising – and advertising milk at that.
When the pub rumbles and racial slurs return, well, perhaps then you can get your knickers in a knot, Mr Gallop. But please be sure not to reveal the brand, be it Bonds or Rio, or Elle Macpherson’s, for that matter. We wouldn’t want to shove labels into people’s faces.
