There’s certainly an irony in the news that Jim Beam and Jack Daniels are both pulling out as sponsors in the Sprint Cup Series.
Both fought so hard to get into the sport four years ago, forcing the sanctioning body to end its nearly 50-year policy of not allowing companies that produce hard liquor into the sport as corporate sponsors.
It made sense for a long while, as NASCAR tried to put forth itself as a family sport. And we all know whiskey isn’t exactly a family-friendly indulgence.
Nevertheless, when JB and JD both came into the sport, they filled a tremendous void by bringing in millions of dollars in sponsorship money that meant more opportunities for team owners, drivers and especially team members. Frankly, JB and JD helped create a number of jobs.
Now, due to the still-struggling economy and a decision to allocate its corporate resources elsewhere, we’ll have plenty of beer, soda and energy drink sponsors in the sport, but we won’t have any of the hard stuff left.
Gosh, I feel like I need a stiff drink all of a sudden.
How can Jack and Jim abandon a sport whose fans are likely big consumers of their products? How can they say the want to reallocate their resources to other avenues, when NASCAR’s primary demographic is pretty much akin to that of whiskey swillers?
Having JB and JD leave the sport now puts probably close to a couple hundred people’s jobs on the line: Robby Gordon’s organization, as well as Casey Mears’ team as part of Richard Childress Racing. If replacement sponsorship can’t be found, it’s going to have a devastating effect on those two teams.
Admittedly, Jim Bean and Jack Daniels had to maintain a certain sense of decorum and responsibility to be part of the sport, let alone to market their wares. They couldn’t be too overt or over the top with their commercials or promotions – and honestly, they did a fantastic job doing just that.
Frankly, even though I was originally against allowing spirits manufacturers into the sport, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam have proven to be credits to NASCAR. That’s why I’m now saddened that they’re leaving.
Hopefully, if the economy picks back up, maybe J and/or J will be back. For now, I raise a toast in their honor. Thanks for being good sponsors, and more importantly, responsible ones too, given the product they sell. They did it the right way; other companies could learn a lot from how they did it.
On a different note, I’m going to start a new tradition every Friday, especially since I kicked it off the right way last week by picking Mark Martin to win the Chase opener at Loudon.
My pick this week: Mark Martin again. Trust me, I’ve got a feeling. We’ll find out Sunday if I’m right.
Have a good weekend, everyone. Catch you back here on Monday.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 09/24 at 08:47 PMWhile I’m sure that the economy played a big part in JB and JD dropping their sponsorships, I also wonder if the fact that Robby Gordon and Casey Mears absolutely stink also played some part into it?
I’m not ignoring that much better drivers, like Matt Kenseth, are losing sponsorship for 2010, but by that same token, if you had, say, Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart or Mark Martin with the JB and JD sponsorships putting up their numbers and getting all that exposure, I think JB and JD might have reconsidered entirely dropping out.
That picture of Gordon and Mears racing side-by-side is actually quite appropriate, since they’re usually stuck toward the back of the field, 1 or 2 laps down. The only time they ever get any exposure is when there’s a wreck and they’re invariably smack-dab in the middle of it.
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