H&M sponsoring Olympia- Lowering the tone?

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natalia

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At last nights prize giving, Guy Williams came out on a horse in an H&M Leopard print rug (Yuck! looked really tacky). He was then made to stand inbetween 2 wings betraying barely clad ladies for mounted prize giving. I'm not a prude by any means but thought it was totally horrid. Olympia is a big family xmas show and it just seemed like they were trying to sex up show jumping way too much. Any thoughts?
 
I suppose any Sponsor is welcome in these difficult times.The rug was a bit different wasnt it!I watch some results from the European shows and cringe at the offer of prize money at our shows, I think the result last night was a great one, just Guy for us against top Europeans, and he won on an 8 yr old,a very brave ride.I think Guy would be pleased to win no matter who the sponsor was.
JC
 
Who are H&M anyway? I have not heard of them.

Other sponsors seems to be a bio-tech company and a management consultancy. I just cannot believe that spectators there or at home watch show jumping, then decide they need to go and hire a management consultant. I doubt the management consultancy will sponsor SJ again though as they were 1 of Tiger Wood's sponsors and have just dropped him. I think a lot of companies have realised with Tiger that sport does not always have a positive image.

1 of the foreign riders was wearing a hideous green jacket (worse even that Stockdale's former colour scheme), presumably at the behest of his sponsors.
 
I'm guessing H&M weren't realy sponsoring it because it was showjumping specifically - it was a room full of (lets face it) mainly women in the middle of London - so I kind of see why they would want to sponsor it. And Olympia are probably pleased to have a sponsorship deal full stop at the moment. Didn't see the rug or banners you are refering to but can't see the harm in it myself, they're just a high street clothing retailer not Ann Summers and I think they kind of suit a show like Olympia which is in the city and a big sparkly party!!
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Show jumping has always been tacky.
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If anything it has raised the tone
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Good point! Burberry, Elizabeth Duke & WKD would be more suitable sponsors lol
 
I was there - to be honest right now I would imagine a sponsor is a sponsor. The huge H&M hoardings were lost on me - but my 14 year old neice liked them and she shops there - so perfect marketing for their target audience. They also sponsor a lot of the Swedish riders so its not a first for them. As for the rug - again my 14 year old neice loved it.

The shopping seemed a lot quieter than in previous years - and there were empty seats - porobably because of the weather - I can't imagine finding a company to cough up the sort of cash they are looking for is easy right now and frankly there are worse people than H&M.
 
Dont think its a bad think at all - at least they are not going to go bust anytime soon. And its not like they even sell branded merchandise with there logo's all over it. They probably realise alot of people that were there yesterday dont shop at h and m and never will - Good on them I say!
 
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They probably realise alot of people that were there yesterday dont shop at h and m and never will - Good on them I say!

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If they thought alot of people wouldn't shop with them, believe me they wouldn't sponsor it!
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There was a big fuss when H&M opened their flag ship store in Saville Row most of the tailors had a grumble.

Times change and things move on - - now where can I buy the Leopard print rug in a 6'9 please
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I always thought H and M had sponsored a lot of horse stuff and riders, I also thought they had sponsored olympia before but normally red and white.

And given the number of people on here who got excited over the cow print rugs......... leopard print will obviously be next
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Who are H&M anyway? I have not heard of them.

Other sponsors seems to be a bio-tech company and a management consultancy. I just cannot believe that spectators there or at home watch show jumping, then decide they need to go and hire a management consultant. I doubt the management consultancy will sponsor SJ again though as they were 1 of Tiger Wood's sponsors and have just dropped him. I think a lot of companies have realised with Tiger that sport does not always have a positive image.

1 of the foreign riders was wearing a hideous green jacket (worse even that Stockdale's former colour scheme), presumably at the behest of his sponsors.

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Accenture are a lead sponsor with BSJA - they sponsor all kinds of stuff. Don't tell me people who will pay upwards of £2.5K plus vat for a box with evening meal are not professionals and the type of people who mix with people who do use management consultants!
 
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XXXXXX are a lead sponsor with BSJA - they sponsor all kinds of stuff. Don't tell me people who will pay upwards of £2.5K plus vat for a box with evening meal are not professionals and the type of people who mix with people who do use management consultants!

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Those boxes are mostly corporate bookings and the clients taken to see them are rarely interested in the sport/event they are watching. If you look at the hospitality suites at Burghley, none of them even face the XC course and most of the visitors spend all day in them.

As I said before, that company (I refuse to write their name) has just dropped Tiger Woods because he has turned from being a brand asset to a laughing stock. They will no doubt be reconsidering whether to drop all sports sponsorships as these can so easily go the same way (e.g. many cycling team sponsors walking away after the Festina doping scandal).
 
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XXXXXX are a lead sponsor with BSJA - they sponsor all kinds of stuff. Don't tell me people who will pay upwards of £2.5K plus vat for a box with evening meal are not professionals and the type of people who mix with people who do use management consultants!

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Those boxes are mostly corporate bookings and the clients taken to see them are rarely interested in the sport/event they are watching. If you look at the hospitality suites at Burghley, none of them even face the XC course and most of the visitors spend all day in them.

As I said before, that company (I refuse to write their name) has just dropped Tiger Woods because he has turned from being a brand asset to a laughing stock. They will no doubt be reconsidering whether to drop all sports sponsorships as these can so easily go the same way (e.g. many cycling team sponsors walking away after the Festina doping scandal).

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Exactly!

Hence the people who will see the sponsorship clearly are the types who will use management consultants. Ergo it is worth their while sponsoring these events.
 
A Sponsor - is a Sponsor.
Have you ever tried to find any when running a Show?
I have - a total nightmare.
Lots of events these days are sponsored by what some people would consider "tacky" Companies BUT the money has to come from some-where.
Otherwise some of these shows would not survive - or have such large prize-pots - which, in turn, attract the entries.
 
I am delighted that you think we have so many sponsors in the sport that we can afford to knock them. I did see the rug, hey it was a bit of fun, no harm.

If you think that the ladies on the wings where barely clad, you obviously don't look at the main stream magazine racks for the magazines that all teens read.

H&M bring glamour to the sport, the audience is full of an age group that could buy their product and Olympia, like many of our International Shows it can give teriffic exposure both at the event and on TV and I am sure they get a great return on their investment. For British Sport to keep progressing it's time we as public embraced our sponsors and make sure they get something out from what they put in. Forums like this have actually caused sponsors to reject coming into our sport so think before you post! Thank you all sponsors and supporters we need you!

Otherwise if you feel like finding the hundreds of thousands it takes to support our main events out of your own pocket I am sure any organiser would be delighted to welcome you with open arms.


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Discuss!

At last nights prize giving, Guy Williams came out on a horse in an H&M Leopard print rug (Yuck! looked really tacky). He was then made to stand inbetween 2 wings betraying barely clad ladies for mounted prize giving. I'm not a prude by any means but thought it was totally horrid. Olympia is a big family xmas show and it just seemed like they were trying to sex up show jumping way too much. Any thoughts?

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i don't think it matters WHO is sponsoring as long as someone is! as someone who competes at BE, spends (literally) thousands on training and competing to win a Dandy Brush for beating 49 other people in my section i think that any sponsors should be welcome. i didn't see the rug, Guy Williams was probs a bit
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at it but bet he was
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with the money that he won
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with regard to accenture dropping all sponsorship because of Tiger woods- what a load of crap, companies have sponsored sporting events and sportmen/women for years- if they behae badly and 'bring the sport into disrepute' they simply move on to the next hopeful/talented person....sponsorship MUST be worth it (i don't work in PR or marketing so can't give any actual figures) but otherwise why would they do it across the world?
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At specialist-interest events like Olympia though, you rarely get the decision makers attending. They give the tickets away to the junior staff who are actually interested in SJ, so the sponsors are wasting their money anyway.

The other way that corporate hospitality backfires on sponsors is that attendees are terrified of being accused of being bribed in kind, so won't put business their way afterwards to appear squeaky clean.
 
In the current climate I would have thought any sponsor was a good thing? The equestrian world relies on that just as much as any other sports do. Don't see the problem with it myself.
 
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H&M bring glamour to the sport, the audience is full of an age group that could buy their product and Olympia, like many of our International Shows it can give teriffic exposure both at the event and on TV and I am sure they get a great return on their investment. For British Sport to keep progressing it's time we as public embraced our sponsors and make sure they get something out from what they put in. Forums like this have actually caused sponsors to reject coming into our sport so think before you post! Thank you all sponsors and supporters we need you!


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well said
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honestly-showjumping, teenage girls, what were H&M thinking
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H&M bring glamour to the sport, the audience is full of an age group that could buy their product and Olympia, like many of our International Shows it can give teriffic exposure

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Sorry, but this made me giggle. Seems 'exposure' is exactly the point being made here, or rather, perhaps, over exposure.
I didn't see it, so don't know how scantily clad or not these people were, but semi nudity is not glamorous.

Would I be right in thinking you are connected to H&M?
 
No not connected, I hope no one from H&M has read some of this and we don't lose them on the back of it! Whoever the sponsor is we need them, keep them coming.
 
No, I'm not saying lose the sponsorship, I just found the wings with hardly dressed ladies on it hardly appropriate for what is essentially a family show and day out, and rather a strange choice. I think that the image they were giving off seemed like rather a strange one to have at an event like this, I know show jumpers aren't very whole some, like tacky stuff and lots of bling but at an international event it just somehow felt a bit wrong and like someone who was managing their campaign had got it badly wrong.
 
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