All Blacks: Add AIG logo to jersey
New Zealand will emblazon a sponsor's logo on their jerseys for only the second time in their 107-year history under a deal signed with USA insurance giant AIG.
The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said the famous black jersey would carry the AIG logo until mid-2018 under a sponsorship arrangement needed to boost cash reserves and put the Union on a sustainable footing.
"This is not a decision we have taken lightly... it is a very positive opportunity to secure the additional funds that we need to help safeguard the future of the game in this country," said NZRU chief executive Steve Tew.
While the jersey has long displayed the name of All Blacks' kit provider, currently adidas, the only other time it has featured a corporate logo was when the team was sponsored by brewer Steinlager in the 1990s.
Many New Zealanders regard the jersey as sacrosanct and the NZRU said it carried out extensive consultation before signing the new deal, the financial details of which have not been released.
AIG sponsored English Premier League club Manchester United from 2006 to 2010 but ended the deal after receiving a record $182 billion bailout from the US government at the height of the global financial crisis.
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw backed the relationship with AIG.
"It's really flattering that a company this big has chosen New Zealand rugby to be its cornerstone sponsorship," he said. "It shows incredible respect for our traditions, heritage and record of success."
The NZRU said it cost NZ$100 million ($82 million) a year to run rugby in New Zealand and new revenue was needed.
"We are currently forecasting deficits over the coming years, which means using cash reserves in the short term to meet this. This is simply not sustainable," it said.
The All Blacks will wear the new jersey for the first time when they play Australia in Brisbane on October 20.
Comments
Trader2 says...
BillyMutt
You posted just before Trinats so that is 2 insane comments, as you say not bad. He is talking about cheating again and as we now know from another story he does that very well.
Posted 08:47 13th October 2012
isthatrightref says...
@ jackblack... every other NZRU team's jersey has the full-size, bordered logo. Story on stuff.co.nz quotes Kevan Mealamu as saying that the senior AB's weren't happy with their jersey having the full-on logo & that AIG agreed to the smaller one. Could always be spin, softening the blow & all that, but if true then maybe Tew hasn't altogether sold us down the river?
Speaking of @ SteveTew, any progress on a meaningless Bledisloe IV somewhere in Asia? That gap in the cabinet where the DHL should be is looking rather obvious...
Posted 06:54 13th October 2012
sandal says...
Wrong.
Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.
Wrong.
And wrong again.
All the hardnosed "realists" will doubtless lecture me, saying the money was needed and this is the price we pay. But if the NZRU wanted to sell a piece of the jersey it should have gone peripheral -- the sleeve -- and left the centre of the chest.
A cynic, as Oscar Wilde said, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. So thank you, hardnosed "realist" Steve Tew: you got your price and you have just shredded the value.
As for AIG, it needn't think it has endeared itself to New Zealanders -- particularly those Cantabrians who are customers of its subsidiaries and have found getting paid out for earthquake damage so difficult. The one thing AIG might have done to rescue its image in NZ was to have paid to keep the jersey clean. Then we might have loved it. But, of course, AIG's interests are global.
Ah well, we can be thankful, I suppose, that the NZRU hasn't emblazoned the jersey with the name of a brewer, as Australia and South Africa both did in letters large. And we can be thankful to all those American taxpayers whose hardearned money went into bailing out this All Blacks sponsor. It was just small change to come down here and ruin something. Thank you, America!
Posted 04:05 13th October 2012
nzmaoriboy says...
he he @Trinats...Forever the pessimist! Relentlessly Trolling..Life must be a peach in your household. Small note NZ's Adidas sponsorship alone is the highest of all of the rugby playing nations. From NZ herald "The money Australia gets from Kooga and Qantas combined or England get from O2 and Canterbury combined is less than we get just from Adidas" ..And AIG has matched Adidas. Makes sense to get behind the most MARKETABLE brand in world rugby..truth is truth..
Posted 03:27 13th October 2012
rabja795 says...
Unfortunate but had to happen. Shame it was AIG and not IAG (where I work) - could have got some free seats!
Posted 02:33 13th October 2012
tha_mai says...
a little perspective on this deal, and where rugby sits in the marketing world - Usain Bolt is currently in NZ promoting Gatorade, one of his sponsors (wow -suppose that makes him a sell-out?); he earns approx US$20 million a year from sponsorship - his deal with Puma alone (US $9m a year) is bigger than this entire annual deal for the NZRU and the six NZ representative teams it covers.
It's a minor deal globally, plenty of sportspeople earn mor ethna this deal is worth, every year. Look at Red Bull (Krating Daeng) - think they are the world's biggest spending sponsor company - where would many sports and sportspeople be without their sponsorship?
And is not a naming sponsorship - they are not the adidas All Blacks now, neither with they be the AIG All Blacks - compare with Qantas Wallabies where full naming rights were part of the deal.
On with the rugby please.
Posted 02:23 13th October 2012
bigb6969 says...
I hate the look of the new jersey.
However I guess it had to happen. NZ is a country of only 4.6 million people...I guess it is not too bad because it is just white writing and does not really look like a logo.
If we want a link to NZ then GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a company that was partly founded in New Zealand, the Glaxso part anyway,that is in the major league.
Posted 01:07 13th October 2012
5Lock4ward says...
They should have done it w/ the reflective black like the material they used to put the ferns on the rib-cage area for the 2007 RWC or like that which was used to put the Maori artwork on the last Maori shirt. That way the sponsor's name would've been visible yet still black.
Posted 00:42 13th October 2012
cantyboy says...
Quote:Many New Zealanders regard the jersey as sacrosanct and the NZRU said it carried out extensive consultation before signing the new deal, the financial details of which have not been released.
AAAHH,with who?,i must have been out when they rang,not against sponsorship,but then again i don't want to see,this sort of crap,the AIG symbol is too large,the size should be limited,both the Adidas and All Blacks are of the right size,why should the AIG be bigger and a more prominent place,i wonder what Adidas thinks of this.The main thing is, the AB's remember who they play for.
Posted 00:31 13th October 2012
AWEBLAX says...
@BokAvenger Hey as a Kiwi I have to say thats not nice, buts its funny really funny, IRB. lmao....
Posted 00:06 13th October 2012
isthatrightref says...
Looks like a black jersey with a white collar & a silver fern to me... doubt I'll even notice the 3 letters on the front next week at Suncorp, not even on the replay screens.
Posted 23:55 12th October 2012
Melkiwi says...
A lot of complaints here about abs selling out but are you going to pay their bills? We all know know that the nzrfu is one of the weakest unions in terms of finance thanks to the nz economy so the nzrfu had to find a way of paying the bills. Instead of saying the nzrfu have sold out we ab fans should blame ourselves for letting it come to this by not putting bums to seats. Look at all the empty seats during the itm and super rugby and we aren't helping the nzrfu, so we can't blame them for seeking other cash flow.
But in saying that I would have preferred it on the sleeve but we'll get use to just like when addidas took over
Posted 23:45 12th October 2012
Trinats2 says...
I guess they need to find funds somewhere to pay the refs !!!
It's the only time i have ever seen McCaw behind another AB jersey !!!
Trader, are you old enough to consume alochol ???
Posted 23:36 12th October 2012
BillyMutt2 says...
Not a bad thing, if it helps to sustain and expand the growth of the game in NZ. The fact that a large multinational like AIG chose the All Blacks to sponsor is just further testament to their incredibly high standing in the rugby world.
As usual the (mostly) sane comments on this post had to be spoiled by one of our serial-moron Saffa friends. Nice one Bok, you once again show us your remarkably low IQ (you know, the number that's used to indicate how smart, or in your case, how stupid you are). Your constant displays of your insecure feelings about the best rugby team in the world is truly pathetic.
Posted 20:54 12th October 2012
golden_statenba says...
@Mace
You will still watch them play.
Posted 20:21 12th October 2012
jackblack says...
Come on ABs - if you're gonna sellout and get the ads on your shirts, at least do it properly. Get the border round the letters for goodness sakes...the logo is unrecognizable otherwise...
Posted 19:13 12th October 2012
davodiablo says...
I'm ordering an jersey now because it may be a log time before we see it without a sponsors logo .
Posted 17:41 12th October 2012
Dafydd29 says...
I can accept that they need the money, but please, ANYONE but AIG if you should be unfortunate enough to be insured by them, pray that you never need to make a claim.
Posted 17:21 12th October 2012
bcrugby913 says...
shouldve at least been a beer sponsor....
Posted 16:56 12th October 2012
Kiwikev says...
This is horrible but necessary I suppose given the economics of professional rugby and the development programmes that we have in place and must maintain!
Lees than thrilled about having a Yanky logo but they through money around like fools so I guess this is to be expected..
Posted 16:45 12th October 2012