Understanding advertising à la UEFA
An example from Bern illustrates just how absurd the marketing of major sporting events like the UEFA Champions League has become: there, a historic photo had to be covered up.
Where it says Champions League on it, there is also Champions League in it. And exclusively so. This applies not only to the participating teams - including, fortunately, YB this year - but above all to the advertising in and around the stadium. If you don't pay exorbitant sponsorship sums to UEFA, you won't be recognized as a brand.
It has long been known that you can't buy the beer you like around the stadium. People have gotten used to it. However, brand censorship can take on almost grotesque proportions, as the Bund football blog "To the round leather" shows. Apparently, in the run-up to the YB v Manchester United game, the historic photo of the Wankdorf Stadium had to be taped up as well as all the advertising boards. Because it shows the advertising banners of the time. "Chocolat Tobler (with its Toblerone product), Pneu Continental, Dar-Vida ("the breakfast of athletes") and Longines," summarizes the blog. Real competitors for the real CL sponsors.
We are still hoping that this is an early April Fool's joke, satire or some other Bernese insider joke that we didn't understand. Unfortunately, a glance at the comments column below the article gives us little hope in this regard - we're happy to be proven wrong at any time. It's a joke, isn't it? (hae)
