When Nike Starts Advertising with Maya Moore Will it be Sexist?
source: http://www.womensenews.org/story/athleticssports/110815/jordans-choice-maya-moore-helps-all-...
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Nike's Jordan brand announced the addition of a new athlete on its 25-person star roster this summer, and it's not another guy.
In a highly publicized press conference in May, Maya Moore became the first female basketball player to be signed onto Michael Jordan's Nike brand, considered to be the most exclusive sponsor by athletes and sports enthusiasts. Jordan, otherwise known as his "His Royal Airness," is said to handpick athletes that represent his famous organization.
Moore raises female representation on the brand to 12 percent.
The choice of Moore, a team player, is welcome, particularly in a summer when the U.S. women's soccer team stirred unprecedented national, across-the-board sports interest with its championship match against Japan last month.
Typically, the female athletes who attract and hold media limelight are from non-team sports, such as tennis-singles sister stars Serena and Venus Williams. And such stars inevitably attract fashion-model-type media interest: "What's she wearing?" "How's she doing her hair?" "How much did she pay for that bling?
There is no research looking specifically at the ratio of female vs. male athletes in advertisements and marketing campaigns, but general statistics around sports coverage speaks for themselves. Recent research shows that only between 2 and 4 percent of sports coverage is women's sports, said Kane, even though women make up 40 percent of all sports participation nationwide.
Kane recently conducted a study that explored the connection between sexualized advertising of women's sports--featuring images similar to the June issue of Playboy magazine which had Germany's women's soccer team on the cover--and their fan base. Did sexualized advertising help draw viewers?
Read the full story at Women's eNews http://www.womensenews.org/story/athleticssports/110815/jordans-choice-maya-moor...
In a highly publicized press conference in May, Maya Moore became the first female basketball player to be signed onto Michael Jordan's Nike brand, considered to be the most exclusive sponsor by athletes and sports enthusiasts. Jordan, otherwise known as his "His Royal Airness," is said to handpick athletes that represent his famous organization.
Moore raises female representation on the brand to 12 percent.
The choice of Moore, a team player, is welcome, particularly in a summer when the U.S. women's soccer team stirred unprecedented national, across-the-board sports interest with its championship match against Japan last month.
Typically, the female athletes who attract and hold media limelight are from non-team sports, such as tennis-singles sister stars Serena and Venus Williams. And such stars inevitably attract fashion-model-type media interest: "What's she wearing?" "How's she doing her hair?" "How much did she pay for that bling?
There is no research looking specifically at the ratio of female vs. male athletes in advertisements and marketing campaigns, but general statistics around sports coverage speaks for themselves. Recent research shows that only between 2 and 4 percent of sports coverage is women's sports, said Kane, even though women make up 40 percent of all sports participation nationwide.
Kane recently conducted a study that explored the connection between sexualized advertising of women's sports--featuring images similar to the June issue of Playboy magazine which had Germany's women's soccer team on the cover--and their fan base. Did sexualized advertising help draw viewers?
Read the full story at Women's eNews http://www.womensenews.org/story/athleticssports/110815/jordans-choice-maya-moor...
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