Personally, I find this a bit outrageous. The fact that NFL teams are taking sponsorship dollars from the U.S. military and then putting on various fake “Hometown Heroes” acknowledgements.
It’s outrageous because people assume teams are orchestrating these ceremonies or acknowledgments out of goodness or civic duty.
“This person went and got shot at in some shithole half a world away, let’s acknowledge that sacrifice…”
No one actually said that.
Second, it’s outrageous because teams are taking taxpayer money. Your money. My money.
And we get it. No one really wants to join the armed forces anymore. They have to advertise and the NFL provides a captive audience.
But do they have to advertise in such a deceptive way that we all think we’re saluting our local military personnel when in fact, we are watching a recruiting promo?
No.
And do NFL teams like the Green Bay Packers have to play a part in the charade AND indirectly suck more money out of our pockets?
No.
That’s right, the Packers are all over this taxpayer cash.
The department of defense handed NFL teams $5.4 million of their advertising budget from 2011-14. The Packers took in $600,000 of that, which is less than only four other teams.
So you could salute your Hometown Heroes…
And they could line their pockets.
Now, we won’t pretend the Packers don’t do any good for the community or even the military. They do and they were quick to point those things out in the wake of this report.
However, that doesn’t make this particular transaction anymore seemly.
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What a surprise, a scumbag move here by the Packers. For the first time ever, I 100% agree with Monty. Good article. I’m just happy the Lions didn’t show up on this list.
Dave, the reasons the Lions didn’t show up on the list is because the braintrust at DOD knew that Daytwat is such an unliveable shithole, young people from there will flock to the military to just to have a chance to get the fuck out of America’s version of Mogadishu.
Why piss away money where you don’t have to?
You see in Green Bay, where people have running water and electricity, you have to entice them to give that up for hardship.
I…have to agree. I always thought they were doing this for charity or out of the good of their hearts. To know the military actually pays NFL teams to do those sorts of celebrations sucks.
Sorry guys, but to think that any branding campaign is 100% transparent is just completely naive.
If it was 100% transparent, it wouldn’t be branding or marketing.
The DoD has a marketing budget, right? Is it wrong for them to have a marketing budget? No – they need it.
And wouldn’t you rather have them spend that marketing money (taxpayer money) in the most effective way possible?
Trust me, they (and their marketing partners) know way more about putting together an effective campaign than you do. It’s the DoD – are they there to make you feel good about how they recruit the best people for the job? Probably not a major concern of theirs.
Sorry if this didn’t efficiently spend your tax dollars to get the best people AND make you feel all happy inside at the same time – maybe figure out which one is more important to you.
Bob, don´t you think that pay to do that kind of ceremonies it’s disrespectful to the military?
I can understand that position, but I’ve done a lot of work in & near the worlds of branding and marketing, and have seen way more deceptive shit that this. (I’m not saying the DoD should be deceptive, but..) Not completely honest, but to me they weren’t going out of their way to deceive anyone. Essentially, just trying to promote their product in the most effective way they can.
I can see how it puts a bad taste in people’s mouths since it’s not what people are used to, but I don’t really see it as disrespectful. I am in no way minimizing any veterans, but I really see it as the DoD using all of their available resources to promote their “product”, and make it palatable to the widest range of people.
As for the money (which, MGP, I know you weren’t really talking about money, but it’s another layer to me), people are amazed at the $600k that the Packers received. Frankly, I’ve seen Nike easily drop that money on a 2 hour product release event, and barely blink. I understand that the DoD is not Nike, but in the world of marketing & branding, 600k really isn’t much money.
Bob, as an European (i am Portuguese), i always envy the way the Americans demonstrate their appreciation for the military.
Sadly, in Europe is very different (with the United Kingdom exception).
But i truly feel that kind of ceremonies should have origin in the people’s hearts and not in the MoD money.
Know what I mean?
I’m a vet, it doesn’t bother me in the least, true, its advertising for the military…like 5% of the young people now days join up, can’t blame them…as always with todays world, people are getting waaaay too touchy and worried about being “politically correct”…bah, screw that…
I did not like this when I first heard about it a few days ago. It just did not feel right, but If a firm or the Government comes to the Packers or any other team and wants to pay them for a service that is legal then why should it be a problem?
I think the Packers and other teams should have disclosed the arrangement, however if it was not against the law then that is the teams decision or their clients.
Congress is trying to pass a law called the taxpayer transparency act that would require disclosure by the Government when they pay for advertisements. What better way to get it out there than have a senator or congressman call out NFL teams. It may be against the law in the future to not disclose. At this time the Packers did nothing wrong.
Interestingly enough, the Packers Charitable Foundation contributed approximately $600K in donations to local non profits this yr according the Pack web site. So, in a way I guess you can say they gave it back.
The Packers are a business….but still, taking the same amount from the DOD, given the wealth that the NFL (GNB Packers included) already enjoys…could easily be construed as obscene on a purely perception level for sure. I would hope the Pack reciprocates on a PR level by not only continuing to support local charities….but by also recognizing active MP or Veterans beyond a pre game ceremony aka sending a chunk of that to Wounded Warriors or another worthy veteran group.
My 1st thought after reading the article, but before reading the comments was that the Packers should have given that 600k to local charities.
If the Packers took in the 600k, then turned around and gave away the same amount to local charities, i’m cool with that.
Are we saying the military/ DOD is corrupt and somehow fallable? Oh no way.. Can’t be brainwashed propaganda, can it? They take care of their vets, right? Wars solve problems globally, right?
Lol…the entire thing is a charade meant to protect rich oil land and natural resource Corps and Execs. All the while masquerading as “Patriotism” and “Protection” against so called evil doers. Garbage…we are more protected by gigantic and expansive miles of oceans than military brute force.
Amen!
Right! Good take! We have nothing to fear because the oceans will protect us!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
No, we’re saying there could be a moral & perception dilemma produced by the Packers taking money from DOD. You’re the one mocking the military & laughing at those who serve or served….while also distastefully & uninvitingly… puking up your pseudo intellectual world view on all of us. Newsflash: FDR debunked Isolationism & the “Fortress America” theory 80yrs ago….or back when Don Hutson was playing if that rings a bell.
I’m in the Army. Not that big a deal. It’s advertising, military wants its numbers.
Good thing the DOD didn’t use that coin to actually pay the soldiers they have a little better.
You want people to commit time to military service? Pay ’em.
Amen!
This is one of the most mind-boggling articles every written on this site. Hahaha… Other than the over-the-top cynicism, I truly don’t get where Monty’s head is at with this one.
DoD, smart use of taxpayer money.
Packers, keep up the good word. Our vets appreciate it.