Thread by @AbhishekPonia

Was Cristiano Ronaldo right in removing the Coca-Cola bottles from the press conference table?

A (former) Sports marketeer’s perspective:

A THREAD
#threadsbyAP

Firstly, WHAT HAPPENED?
At one of the press conferences of the UEFA EURO football event, the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo removed bottles of Coke placed on the table & urged people to drink water instead.

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Why is it a big deal?
This is a first time something like this has happened in a sports event of this magnitude.. where a player has gone right up against an event sponsor. Unsurprisingly, the video went viral.

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You must be curious to know - WHY were Coke bottles placed there to begin with?
A quick background on this:

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Coca-Cola is one of the sponsors of UEFA EURO 2020. This means it is entitled to certain deliverables. For a beverage brand, one of the STANDARD deliverables is placement of the product on Press conference table, where players interact with the media.

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In my estimation, Coca-Cola must have paid atleast a few MILLION DOLLARS for this sponsorship (nothing less).

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Such a deal is not something new. Brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds, KFC are heavy spenders on sports sponsorship & have been for a long time... will continue to do so.

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The MAJOR source of revenue for sports events / leagues / teams is from Broadcast rights & Sponsorships. This money keeps the sports landscape going, & is a big factor in authorities being able to provide a great experience for fans.. (whether at home or at the stadium).

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Please note that an event sponsorship does NOT compel any player to individually endorse the brand.

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Coming back to the incident in discussion, the Coca-Cola bottles were placed there as they were promised this under the terms of the sponsorship deal!

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I do not consume any Cola drink, neither am I asking anyone to do so.
But in my opinion, what Ronaldo did was wrong... and goes against the agreement of the sponsorship deal.

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In no way was Ronaldo shown to be endorsing the brand. It was a product placement.

Infact Ronaldo was the brand ambassador of Coca-Cola earlier in his career. Also, he has associated with brands such as KFC.

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Many players refrain from endorsing Cola brands, including cricketer Virat Kohli, who dropped his Pepsi association since he didn’t consume it himself.

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An incident like this will keep brands vary & they will include clauses to this tune in future contracts.

Imagine if all players started going against sponsors whose products they don’t use.
We’ve already seen Pogba do the same to Heineken shortly after this incident.

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What If Virat or RCB decide to go against the IPL since for 2 seasons it’s title sponsor was Pepsi!

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Vivo, Hisense, McDonalds, Tik-Tok, Samsung, Heineken are among the sponsors of Euro 2020 & are an important part of the Eco-system which is uplifting the sport.

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Many might say that there should be a blanket ban on sponsorship deals with products which are ‘unhealthy’ for people. This is not realistic or feasible!
Despite knowing the pros & cons of colas, millions still willingly consume them.

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All of these brands are legally allowed to sell and also PROMOTE their products. Whether consumers decide to buy or not is their decision!

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Coca-Cola & Pepsi are two of the biggest global brands... and the irony is that they are also two of the biggest manufacturers of Packaged drinking water worldwide!

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In a personal press conference or event, Ronaldo has every right to ensure that there no products he doesn’t like. But this incident happened at one of the biggest sports events in the world.

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Again, I am not a supporter of Coke or any cola brand.
But sponsors are an integral part of a sporting event & their rights needs to be fulfilled once committed.

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UNPOPULAR OPINION: Ronaldo is a legend, one of the greatest if not THE One! But he is not bigger than the event, or the sport & its Eco-system which has made him what he is today!

END.