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A-B, Other Major NFL Sponsors Concerned Over League's Handling Of Domestic Issues

Anheuser-Busch, one of the NFL's "biggest sponsors, has become the latest, if not one of the loudest, voices to express disappointment with the scandals plaguing the league," according to a front-page piece by Lisa Brown of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. A-B in a statement yesterday said it was “disappointed and increasingly concerned by the recent incidents that have overshadowed this NFL season.” The statement: “We are not yet satisfied with the league’s handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code. We have shared our concerns and expectations with the league.” The statement came before the Vikings' decision to remove RB Adrian Peterson from team activities, but the fallout from the Peterson scandal, along with those involving Ray Rice, Panthers DE Greg Hardy and 49ers DE Ray McDonald, is "prompting some major sponsors to take action." Visa on Monday said that domestic violence in any form "is unacceptable and has no place in the NFL and society." Campbell Soup also said that it had "spoken to the NFL about the Rice video investigation." Other major NFL sponsors, including Marriott, Pepsi and FedEx, have said that they are "monitoring the situation when confronted by angry fans threatening to boycott their products." Brown notes A-B's statement is so far the "strongest yet by a major U.S. company" and is "likely to get the attention of league officials and team owners" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/17). The AP's Mae Anderson notes McDonald's yesterday "issued a similar statement." The brand said it has "questions surrounding these evolving situations and are closely monitoring as the appropriate parties investigate these matters." The company added it has "communicated our concerns to the league, and we expect it to take strong and necessary actions to address these issues" (AP, 9/17).

GETTING THE LEAGUE'S ATTENTION: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Esterl, Clark & Vranica note while A-B and other major sponsors "aren't expected to start a run for the exits, the beer conglomerate's public statement will likely increase the pressure on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell." A-B Marketing Communications Manager Nick Kelly said that the company "hasn't made any specific recommendations to the NFL." Kelly: "We're not in a position to tell the league how to operate." However, he added, "A lot of sponsors have been put in the position of having to justify their relationship with the league" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/17). In N.Y., Ken Belson notes there was no indication in the statement that A-B "might walk away from the NFL." But it "suggested that the company was trying to be sensitive to supporting a popular league and not appearing to support the behavior of some of its players." Ultimately, sponsors do "not want to be singled out by protesters who view them as enablers of the player or league" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/17). MSNBC's Donny Deutsch said, "This is when the dominoes start to fall" ("Morning Joe," MSNBC, 9/17).

REASON TO BE CONCERNED
: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes A-B "didn't say it was pulling" its six-year, $1.2B deal, but it "doesn't take a marketing genius to see what's down the road if the NFL doesn't get its act together." The fear of "ticking off big-money sponsors is what keeps Roger Goodell awake at night, and if he and the NFL owners don't get now that coddling players accused of beating their wives and children is unacceptable, they never will." A-B is one of the league's "largest sponsors," and also is a "local sponsor of more than three-quarters of the 32 teams" (USA TODAY, 9/17). In K.C., Yael Abouhalkah writes under the header, "This 49-Word Bombshell From Anheuser-Busch Just Sent Chills Down The NFL's Spine" (K.C. STAR, 9/17). In N.Y., Mike Lupica writes this "did not sound like grandstanding from the beer company." Lupica: "This was a threat. ... We wanted somebody to say something and somebody did. Not one of the kings of the sport. The King of Beers. On this day, the league’s moral authority was a beer company" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/17). ESPN's Darren Rovell notes it "really sent shockwaves around the business community that Anheuser-Busch was willing to go that far publicly" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 9/17). N.Y. marketing firm Talent Resources co-Founder David Spencer said, "When Anheuser-Busch speaks, Roger Goodell listens. They don’t go out on a limb. I was very surprised they came out and took a position" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/17).

JUST PR SPEAK?
 In N.Y., Michael Powell writes of A-B's statement, "That's not quite the sound of the Budweiser Clydesdales trotting away." As each year several NFLers "beat their wives and girlfriends and still play the next Sunday, it’s perhaps not unkind to suggest" that A-B is "new to its religion" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/17). In Chicago, Barry Rozner writes A-B "knows there will be 10 companies lined up to spend their money if Busch vacates, and unless there's a sudden and demonstrable change in sponsor support -- likely because of customer backlash and boycotts -- the NFL will sit atop its hill and look down without compassion or concern" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 9/17). VARIETY's Brian Steinberg writes A-B "may be trying to have its suds and drink them, too." A statement of concern is "not the same thing as pulling advertising in support of an event, and ad buyers have indicated that NBC has sold a good portion" of its coming broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX. But a "sour note from this large advertiser often perks up ears on Madison Avenue" (VARIETY.com, 9/17).

LEVERAGING THEIR POWER
: AD AGE's E.J. Schultz noted yesterday's statement by A-B comes after the Radisson hotel chain said that it was suspending its sponsorship of the Vikings in the wake of the Peterson scandal, and the two actions when taken together "suggest that the solidarity that sponsors have exhibited in generally supporting the league is beginning to show some cracks." Either that, or sponsors are "realizing they must speak with more conviction on the matter" (ADAGE.com, 9/16). ESPN's Herm Edwards said, “The NFL all of a sudden has their foot held to the fire. It’s about the money, and you always follow the money because it will lead you back to the right spot" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 9/17). In Cincinnati, Josh Pichler writes under the header, "Time For NFL's Sponsors To Take Action." The NFL is a "multi-billion dollar operation, but there should be no confusion that the country's most popular league plays by a set of rules its sponsors never could or would follow" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 9/17). However, in Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes until the "beer barons and their friends withdraw sponsorship (never), we are just baying at the moon." All the "congressional outrage, gubernatorial objections, NOW calls for Goodell’s resignation, and protest planes flying over stadiums won’t change the indisputable fact that the NFL is more popular than ever" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/17).

Activists doctored Cover Girl ad to show
their disdain for the NFL
TAKING COVER?
In Chicago, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz notes Cover Girl has not "pulled its sponsorship of the NFL or its football-themed ads," but the company nonetheless has "landed in the unflattering spotlight of the NFL domestic abuse scandal as activists pressuring sponsors to boycott the league circulate a doctored ad of a female football fan with a black eye." A Cover Girl statement in part read, "As a brand that has always supported women and stood for female empowerment, CoverGirl believes domestic violence is completely unacceptable." But Adele Stan, who "posted the original doctored image Thursday on Twitter, called Cover Girl's statement 'wholly inadequate' in a Twitter post." Elejalde-Ruiz reports Cover Girl will be "assessing the fallout to determine whether it does any real damage to its brand." DePaul Univ. PR professor Ron Culp said that most people "view the image as a clever way to use an existing advertisement to get back at the NFL, and don't correlate Cover Girl with the domestic violence issue." But because it is a "brand for women, it was 'low-hanging fruit' for activists wishing to get their point across" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/17).

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