Are we going to see video games featured more prominently in their real-life counterparts in the future? As games themselves are becoming more and more mainstream, this is certainly a possibility, and one that would benefit both sides as well. We’ve recently seen a good example of this, as La Liga players were spotted wearing ads for “PES 2015” on their socks.
So far, we haven’t seen ads displayed on player socks very often, and this is a relatively new trend which may or may not gain popularity. But in any case, it’s an interesting move by marketing teams that could definitely have a lot of potential for success if it’s executed right. More specifically, we’ve been seeing the ad on the socks of players from Spanish clubs, and it’s been going around for a few weeks now.
Of course, it’s possible that these kinds of ads would be limited to La Liga only, as it’s one of the places where we can expect to see more unusual choices of attire for the players, such as the decision to dress Barcelona’s players as cowboys on their match days.
Konami themselves seem excited about the situation, for what it’s worth, as Erik Bladinieres, director of the company, said that he sees this as a fantastic opportunity to reach nearly a billion people, considering how popular La Liga is in general. It’s also expanding at the moment, and this is the perfect time for a company like Konami to jump in and get some benefits for themselves, improving their own situation significantly.
Someone else happy by the whole situation has been Adolfo Bara Negro, General Director of Marketing and Sales for La Liga, who said that this is a great opportunity for both sides to benefit quite well, and he sees this as a correct decision on Konami’s side. In the end, he’s happy to see this collaboration between all parties involved, and he seems hopeful that it will lead to even more opportunities in the future.
Not everyone has been sharing the excitement though – some publications and fans seem to think that football players’ socks are a “sacred zone” for some reason and should never be touched by ads, but we certainly can’t see where they’re coming from. As long as it works out, and it doesn’t distract from the main game itself (which it doesn’t), there shouldn’t be a problem with that. It’s not like fans pay any attention to players’ socks in general anyway, so adding an ad to them doesn’t hide anything important.