There were some grumbles and moans when the Union renewed its shirt sponsorship deal with Bimbo Bakeries.
The report from the Philly Business Journal of 11 million dollars over five years seemed, at first, like a downgrade over the original deal.
But that’s not entirely the case, as the team claims this deal is more beneficial.
Here’s my attempt at an “infographic” to break it down.
If you want to read more, Jonathan Tannenwald did a nice job of writing up details of the deal at Philly.com.
This particular line from Union chief revenue officer Dave Rowan stands out:
“Rowan wouldn’t tell me exactly how that money was split, but he did tell me that the approximately $2.3 million per year the Union will get now is ‘an increased investment on an annual basis.'”
From the sound of that quote, it seems like Major League Soccer took a LOT more money from the original deal, maybe 800k per year and 3 or 4 million dollars total. It doesn’t account for the fifth year, though.
The only detail confirmed by the team is the contract length of five years.
And our shirts STILL say bimbo. That isn’t going away. It’s embarrassing, and it’s why I peel the logo off of my jerseys.
Get over it already. I do not think i have heard the word bimbo used (in a derogatory way) in at least 10 years. As noted above, Bimbo Bakeries is humongous – you probably consume something baked by a Bibmo bakery almost daily-and don’t even know it..
Women are called a lot worse than bimbo than in music that our sons and daughters regrettably listen to everyday. Still a pejorative, but an antiquated one a lot of our kids might not even recognize. It’s a tough world, especially in middle school. It’s up to us to help them get through it. So, thanks, Bimbo brands, for the money. Now, let’s just wear the Beth Steel shirts so that the logo will look tough.
Off the top of my head, I can think of at least a half dozen instances when I was asked, “Why is your daughter wearing a shirt with the word bimbo on it? You’re OK with that?” Some from family, some from friends, and once from a stranger. I told the stranger to effectively eff off, but take the time to explain it to family and friends.
.
I love the money the U get from the deal. I hate the logo and wish there was another option.
jpat why couldn’t you just agree with A Person with his “just peel the logo off ” comment, sounds like a reasonable solution to me.
And the team is STILL getting the money, even more with the new deal. Don’t buy the jerseys.
Nice to see the petulant whining resurfacing after the renewal.
something something something That’s a lot of bread! something something
Do we know if the Bimbo logo will be on next year’s kits again or if they will use one of their subsidiaries or other brands that are more familiar to the PA region?
it will be the regular logo. i think part of the reason they started this ad campaign with mls and the union is to try to make their name seem more normal and familiar to people in the us. they wouldn’t necessarily accomplish that by advertising one of their brands that already seems normal and familiar
Any way you slice it, that’s a lot of dough! 😉
If the Union are getting more money I’m fine with the deal. Bimbo sponsors a number of clubs including big Mexican teams. I don’t really care who the sponsor is if they are paying good money. Would it be nice to have a cooler sponsor logo, sure but that’s aesthetics only.
Given that the terms of the deal were not revealed, it seems pointless to speculate on this. It would be nice to see MLS teams with public ownership (similar to the Packers) but this will never happen in the current professional sports climate.
On the aesthetics front, I only wish that the logo was in a monotone or color that fit with the team colors. Short of Man U taking a hideous full color Chevy logo, you don’t see many other clubs doing that. If the Bimbo logo was all white, or navy/gold, I don’t think people would get that bent out of shape about it.
Couldn’t agree more. I’m fine with the word but the colors suck.
The point of advertising is to get your attention. Sure the Bethlehem Steel “Bimbo” looks cool, but it blends in. That’s not the point of someone paying millions a year for advertising.
.
As stated, don’t buy the jersey if you think it’s offensive. The Union are still getting paid either way, which will help the team.
I am not buying the shirt because of the logo. If there are 10,000 like me who do not buy it then the Union loses out on circa $1,000,000 (assuming $100 profit per shirt). So a less attractive deal with someone else may have been just as good…
I’m apparently going to be wearing my Year 1 shirt until it falls to pieces, but I think your numbers are a bit high. There’s plenty of non-shirt Union stuff to buy that isn’t Bimboed. I suspect the lost revenue is noticeable, but not significant enough for a second thought.
I will as well…
“it’s retro”!
ask your german friends what bimbo means in german slang….
how about Entenmann’s ? even my wife would wear a jersey….
meh.
cue the flames-
peace.
I just learned the German slang tonight (watched the Toronto match with a German). Ewww….
It looks like the league decided not to renew so naturally there’s no sharing in the Union renewal. Why would Bimbo partially renew? Sak loves to brag & the understated tone used makes it hard to believe there was any competition for this – itself an unflattering commentary on the franchise, past & future.