By Donald R. Winslow
© 2007 News Photographer magagzine
DURHAM, NC (August 4, 2007) - The National Football League has responded to NPPA's complaint about the upcoming season's new requirement that sideline photographers wear mandatory NFL red vests that bear corporate advertising logos by sending NPPA a letter which says the vests are not an attempt to provide media exposure for sponsors, but a "game operations program to enhance the safety and security of the sideline."
The NFL says there are no plans to add additional logos to the vests, or to increase the size of the marks, and that they think the Reebok and Canon logos are appropriate because the vests are made by Reebok and because Canon "has made the commitment to fund the cost of the vest."
"The Canon and Reebok logos are the only non-NFL logos on the vest," NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello wrote to NPPA president Tony Overman on Friday. "Both logos are directly related to the manufacture of the vest. Given this, it is inaccurate to characterize them as advertising messages sold to NFL sponsors or others."
"If our goal had been media visibility, we would have allowed Canon to display its name in much larger letters on the back of the vests where it could more readily be seen by the television cameras that are located above and behind the photographers," Aiello said. "Instead, 'Canon' appears in letters only 0.7 inches high, less than a quarter of the size of the NFL shield logo and no larger than the logo of Reebok, and actual manufacturer of the vest."
"Canon paid for the vests. Putting their name on the vests is solely to give them exposure for their role in funding. That is not manufacturing. That's sponsorship. That's advertising," Overman said in response.
NPPA vice president John B. Zibluk said, "The NFL says the logos are related to the manufacture of the vest so it is wrong to call it advertising. However, a display of a manufacturer's trademark on a garment made by, or paid for, by a given sponsor is a form of advertising no matter what you call it. The NFL misses the point entirely and its spokespeople are defending an untenable ethical position. They are also placing photojournalists in an ethical quandary by making them choose between being unpaid walking billboards and following NFL guidelines," Zibluk said. "Aiello spends a great deal of time discussing the size of the logos to defend an issue in which size truly doesn't matter. Principles matter. And the logos defy the principles of independent coverage of news or sporting events."
Aiello also wrote, "It has been pointed out both publicly and privately by members of the media that the presence of corporate logos on vests at sporting events is standard in the industry. The size, placement and positioning of the logos on NFL vests is less intrusive than what is considered accepted practice in much of the sports world."
He then goes on to use Associated Press director of photography Santiago Lyon as an example of someone who reviewed and approved the vests. "In fact, the Associated Press director of photography has reviewed the vest design and concluded publicly that the Canon and Reebok logos are both reasonably sized. He also acknowledged that the presence of such logos on event vests is common at sporting events worldwide," Aiello said.
What Lyon actually told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a letter was this: "The Canon and Reebok logos, while of some concern, appear reasonably sized and we acknowledge the common practice of sponsorship appearing on event vests, not just at the NFL but at sporting events the world over. We would, however, be very concerned should there be any increase in the size or number of these logos. Our presence at NFL events is to record them as photojournalists and distribute images the world over, not become walking billboards through larger or more numerous sponsorship logos."
The NFL says their new league-wide vest program is based on the success of their vest program at past Super Bowl games and is their way of standardizing how the media is handled at all NFL season games. "More than half of NFL clubs have used vests during the regular season in years past. The new program now makes that practice consistent across all 32 NFL teams. We believe that the new vests for all of our games will make it easier for security personnel to locate and remove unauthorized personnel, ensuring better working conditions for representatives of the media that are properly on the sidelines."
After receiving the letter Friday the executive director for NPPA, Jim Straight, said, "We reaffirm our dissension on the vest's logos based on our ethical standards, and we hope that our members - with the consultation of their employers - seek out professional and responsible ways to avoid endorsing a corporate product while acting in a journalistic manner."
