NBCSports- As part of an agreement with Head and Shoulders — a favorite of Henrik Lundqvist’s — the goaltenders for the Swedish national team will wear pads featuring the shampoo bottles during all competitions this season except for the Olympics and World Championships.
“No, it’s just a sticker on my regular leg protection. [You] don’t even notice it’s on,” said Jhonas Enroth via Aftonbladet. Along with Enroth, Magnus Hellberg and Linus Söderström will also be donning the shampoo pads when Sweden opens up the Karjala Cup Wednesday against the Czech Republic. While the unique looking pads don’t bother Enroth, one former Swedish netminder isn’t too pleased with what he sees. “Three Crowns are the people’s team. Focus on the Three Crowns on the chest. Now the focus is on something else, [like] everyone who has dandruff,” said goaltender-turned-broadcaster Mikael Tellqvist. “If you have to advertise on the national [team uniform], I think there should be something that is genuine and that feels serious in some way.” ------ I'm inclined to say that these pads (or pad stickers) are ugly as sin, but I'm pretty sure that even the most white-collar of sins isn't as shameless and conspicuous in being financially influenced as these puck-stopping eye-sores. I've obviously heard of product placement, but I can't help but think that what was once a subtle, subconscious marketing tool has been mistreated by taking a picture of the product, blowing it up to 10x it's original size, slapping some adhesive on the back, and jamming it in everyone's sight lines. I know the success of hair care's predominant dandruff shampoo is predicated on scaring people into buying it, but weren't they doing a good enough job of that with commercials that featured actors walking through largely appalled public places with an entire international ice surface full of shavings spread amidst their follicles? Was it really necessary to use grotesque goalie equipment to make the sport feel so impure and unclean that the viewer suddenly feels the innate urge to jump back in the shower and grab a particular brand of shampoo? Anyway, I suppose there is a slight positive here. If Sweden's netminders are already going to look stupid by way of obnoxious advertisements then that should free them of the pressures of being made to look stupid by way of piss poor performance. Let's hope that now-lifted burden is what was holding Jhonas Enroth back from keeping an NHL job, because wearing 'Head & Shoulders' on your knees and toes is just begging for a "nice hands, feet"-style joke when/if a recently retired American relives his glory days by firing one under his crest of crowns and through his egregiously sponsored wickets.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|