Major FIFA sponsors yesterday in statements said that they supported President Sepp Blatter's "sudden decision to resign," according to AD AGE. adidas said, "We welcome FIFA's commitment to change." Coca-Cola added, "We believe this decision will help FIFA transform itself rapidly into a much-needed 21st century structure and institution." McDonald's: "We're hopeful that the changes being implemented within FIFA will be a big first step in positively reforming the organization and gaining back trust from fans worldwide." A-B said it expects the news to "accelerate FIFA's efforts to resolve internal issues, install positive change and adhere to the highest ethical standards and transparency" (
ADAGE.com, 6/2). Visa issued a statement that read, "It is our expectation that FIFA will take swift and immediate steps toward addressing the issues within its organization to quickly rebuild a culture with strong ethical practices that will restore the reputation of the games for fans around the world" (
Visa). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Mike Esterl reports Coca-Cola sent a "formal letter to FIFA expressing concern after U.S. authorities last week indicted 14 people linked to the organization on corruption-related charges." A source said that the letter "urged FIFA to take concrete actions, although it didn’t specify which actions" (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/3). BLOOMBERG NEWS' Aaron Ricadela notes the sponsor statements "steps up the rhetoric from companies that have often been slow to criticise the organisation" (
BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/2). Former Visa Head of Global Brand Andrew Woodward said, "Problem solved. This was the major hurdle and changes everything" (
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 6/3).
HOW MUCH PUSH DID SPONSORS GIVE? It is "not clear" if sponsors played a role in Blatter's decision to resign (ADAGE.com, 6/2). But ESPN's Taylor Twellman wondered how many sponsors "played a part" in Blatter's decision. Twellman: "I wonder once Sepp Blatter was ... re-elected, I wonder if those sponsors came together. There was so much a threat of pulling out from those sponsorships if not for the resignation of Sepp Blatter.” ESPN's Darren Rovell noted that Visa issued a statement after the initial report from the U.S. Dept. of Justice investigation but said nothing after Blatter's re-election. Rovell: "To then say nothing, that would give me reason to think that if there were sponsors that applied pressure over the weekend, Visa would probably be No. 1 in my mind." He added of Coca-Cola's statement that hit on transparency, "When you're still a sponsor, to say something like that is not easily said, and it seems like that's what companies are going to do that are top-tier sponsors in order to publicly at least protect themselves" (ESPN, 6/2).
PRESSURE WAS BEING FELT: NBCSN's Roger Bennett said it was "not just the legal noose that was tightening around Sepp Blatter" and forcing him out of office. Bennett: "It’s the fact that for the past week shows like this one, front page of the New York Times, every nightly news was talking about Budweiser, Visa, Coca-Cola and McDonald's in their home turf, linking them to the 1,200 deaths in Qatar to the World Cup in 2022. Ultimately, Sepp Blatter would have phoned up the heads of every major U.S. corporation and said, ‘Do you stand by me,’ and they were probably like, ‘We might stand by you a little more if you thought about taking a very long vacation’” (“Morning Joe,” MSNBC, 6/3). Fox Sports' Eric Wynalda said the "sole purpose for getting involved with FIFA is it’s the world’s game." Wynalda: "It’s a sport that we all want to be involved in. But when you start to throw around corruption -- as in it’s commonplace and it’s a corrupt enterprise -- and people are dying in Qatar when they’re constructing some of these stadiums ... that’s not something they’re ever going to agree to. That kind of pressure disallows FIFA to fund some of the programs that they really want to fund that do actually help the world’s game” ("America's Pregame," FS1, 6/2).
COULD THEY HAVE DONE MORE? In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes yesterday's sponsor statements "read as if one very careful public relations executive had written several versions of the same message that was now so safe to deliver with Blatter on the way out." Only two of the five statements Sandomir received "even cited Blatter, who, after all, was the star of the day." All five statements "were a variation on the theme of transparency and high ethical standards, which you can never go wrong advocating in the middle of a moral mess." None "expressed any anger over spending millions of dollars in association with a corruption-plagued organization." None "offered a detailed prescription for how to right FIFA." But "maybe some comment is better than none." No statements about Blatter "came from the hierarchy at Fox Sports, which has the rights to the next three World Cups and starts coverage of the Women’s World Cup on Saturday." Sandomir: "To be fair, Fox released a series of comments about Blatter’s resignation from its Women’s World Cup commentators" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/3).
OLIVER'S TWIST: ADWEEK's Christopher Heine noted HBO host John Oliver on Sunday night "promised to drink a Bud Light Lime" if A-B pulled its sponsorship of FIFA, and following Blatter's announcement, Budweiser-related tweets spiked by 525%, "from 207 to 1,296." Comparing the tweets about brands from the hour before Blatter's announcement to the hour after, Coca-Cola's increased 97% from 1,575 to 3,105, Visa's rose 71% from 3,402 to 5,832 and adidas' rose 53%, from 5,832 to 8,946 (ADWEEK.com, 6/2).
