[OPINION] Who wins, loses when brands ride on an athlete’s success?

What started as a joke on social media amid surging fuel prices stirred up conversations on brands riding on the advertising back of athletes.

As some teased online how Hidilyn Diaz couldn’t get any luckier for getting free fuel for life — one of the many incentives showered upon the Zamboangueña weightlifter in 2021 for making history as the first Filipino to capture an Olympic gold — the banter took a different turn when her manager jumped in.  

“Parang drawing naman po ang lifetime…” (The promised lifetime perk was just imaginary.)

Hidilyn’s manager, Noel Ferrer, later added in a separate post: “[She] received fuel support for the first two years after her win. Thanks, but to be accurate, it wasn’t for a lifetime. I’m not sure whose lifetime the people had in mind.”

In another statement on Friday, March 13, Ferrer said “no conditions or restrictions were communicated” to their camp when the reward was given.

“It seems unfair for conditions to be introduced after the fact when the original gesture was presented to the public as purely gratuitous,” he said.

But broken promises, even when made to a star who united a nation, aren’t new.

Back in 1996, boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco bagged a silver medal in the Atlanta Olympics, becoming the first Filipino to come close to a gold in over 30 years.

Onyok’s thrilling romp to the finals — where many fans and pundits believed he got robbed of a championship — made the diminutive Filipino a huge sports sensation.

As it is with glory and the glitter of a near gold, many wanted a piece of Onyok. Cameras trailed him, and pledges, both from the public and private sectors, swamped him. But Onyok revealed decades later that he has yet to receive some of those promised incentives.

Obviously, it’s a marketing strategy some get away with even back then. 

Although the brand that offered Hidilyn free fuel for life claimed it did not exactly renege on its pledge, there’s still debate on what’s legal and what’s goodwill.

The petrol brand said it had its reasons, noting how “circumstances changed” after two years when Hidilyn entered into an arrangement with a competing brand and ceased communication.   

Whatever way Hidilyn’s camp and the brand resolve this controversy, it again highlights how athletes’ life-changing success leaves them wide open to both opportunities and opportunists.

When the euphoria of a nation’s celebration fades, along with it comes the revelation that a seemingly genuine corporate appreciation could have been just gimmickry.

It’s deceptive marketing when promises of reward and support end up not being honored or unexpectedly subject to hidden conditions; but more so, it’s lack of respect for a national treasure who achieved an unquantifiable and historic feat. 

“Sana matuto tayong bigyan ng importansya hindi lang ang mga salita at pangakong binitiwan, kundi ang pagpapahalaga sa mga atletang naghatid ng karangalan sa bansa,” Ferrer said. 

(Hopefully, we learn to give importance not only to the words and promises made, but also to the kind of appreciation that should be given to the athletes who brought honor to the country.)

“Sadly, this is also symptomatic of how we regard athletes who are no longer in the limelight — even when they continue to contribute to sports and to the country.” 

And sadly, too, this makes losers out of our winners. – Rappler.com