On alcohol sponsorship there’s no need to throw the baby vodkas out with the bathwater, says Kate McEvoy…
One of my many bizarre (and God-willing endearing) habits is arguing with the talking heads on the radio as I potter about my daily business. Thankfully it hasn't yet progressed to the stage where they answer me directly but it is a handy way of figuring out where you stand on certain issues.
The question of alcohol sponsorship of sporting events has been rearing its head again and getting plenty of airtime. These conversations always rapidly come around to the Heineken Cup. Obviously the future of the competition in its current format is still very much in a state of flux but any legislation in that direction will have a massive bearing in rugby in this country, as it is one of the major revenue streams available to the sport. So consider references to the Heineken Cup below as more of a shorthand.
Firstly, I am not a fan of the drinking culture in this country. Our emphasis on quantity over quality is fairly goddamn skewify in my opinion (micro-breweries forever!) This is not an article about my love of craft beer but it seems to me that politicians and other various opinion-havers haven't mastered the obvious point that one can be opposed to growing up in a society where not drinking until you're 18 makes you an oddity among your peers, without thinking alcohol companies sponsoring sporting events is paving the way to Sodom and Gomorrah.
We have a major issue with alcohol in this country, that much is evident. However, this sponsorship issue is an easy target politicians have latched onto at the expense of education and the fact they are loathe to admit that booze is still being peddled as an intrinsic part of our identity. Obama, Queen Elizabeth, we can't wait to get a pint into their hands. But the Heineken Cup and its ilk are the problem?
In my itinerant career I've worked at a lot of different events, many of which are sponsored by various purveyors of intoxicants. I find it strange that so little mention is given to cultural events sponsored in this manner during this debate. It could be argued that these events are aimed at an overage audience but my counter to that is twofold. Anecdotally, when I attend a sporting event the majority of the audience are adults. Yes, there's also a family element, which I am hugely in favour of, but it's the responsibility of parents to educate their children to healthily co-exist with alcohol, a balance we clearly have issues with. Banning sponsorship is not going to insulate children from the advertisement of alcohol and its presence in their lives and the world around them. This brings me to the second point. I'm baffled that it's considered ok for essentially sedentary activities to be associated with alcohol but not sports.
That's the crux of the matter for me. Although, in a startling newsflash, abuse of alcohol is damaging to your health, whereas sport can be of huge benefit to an individual's mental and physical well-being, as well as to the wider community. As it stands alcohol sponsorship has given a platform to a variety of sports in Ireland to inspire others. I'm aware there's an inherent dichotomy in associating alcohol with healthy pursuits but if it can provide a platform for film and theatre to showcase the best of what they are capable of without much quibble, it seems strange to insist on cutting sport off at the ankles in this way. The more people exposed to exercise and sport the better. After the London 2012 Olympic Games, Sport England declared that the number of adults playing sport at least once a week had increased by 750,000, with the strongest growth in participation numbers had been among women, helping to cut the gap that still exists between male and female participation.
There are very few sponsors with the coffers of Heineken and its ilk. I'm all ears for sensible suggestions as to where else this revenue is going to come from but I haven't heard any. Sponsorship enables events such as this year's Heineken Cup final to take place. Exposure is essential in my opinion to see the results illustrated above but the benefits can also be economic. Dublin Chamber of Commerce have estimated a direct economic dividend to the capital of €21 million based on the overseas visitors alone. Are we looking at a case of cutting of your nose to spite your face?
A common refrain in this debate is that these brands wouldn't be backing these events if there wasn't something in it for them. Of course not. Call me cynical but I don't credit major businesses with an overabundance of altruistic notions. I don't notice the motives of Aviva or Rabobank being darkly muttered over in the same tones. I'm not a marketing whizz kid but I'm going to assume Heineken want to raise brand awareness, which has paid off in spades but I don't think it can make you drink, Heineken or otherwise. I don't bank with Rabo and I'm not insured with Aviva but I'm more aware of them since their involvement with sports sponsorship. And no one seems to be implying there's anything wrong with that, except where alcohol is concerned.
Declaring that alcohol is intrinsically evil is to my mind inaccurate and part of the problem we have with its consumption in this country, a sort of all or nothing mentality. I'm in favour of the promotion of social, sensible drinking, like a few beers at a rugby match with your friends. Heineken's sponsorship of Europe's premier rugby competition doesn't mean kids are seeing their sporting heroes with pints in hand, it contributes to creating a platform for them to excel on the pitch.
In short, talk of banning alcohol sponsorship doesn't seem to take into account the detrimental effect it would have on sport. However that's not the real issue here for me. It seems like a knee-jerk reaction, an easy answer to appear to be tough on alcohol without alienating vintners or cutting off tax revenue while not addressing the deep-seated problems we have with our relationship with alcohol in this country. The Heineken Cup is a bad thing but Arthur's Day, a faux-festival entirely devoted to drinking isn't? Because Guinness is intrinsically Irish and we want to maintain our reputation as being great craic for visiting tourists while hospital admissions increase and emergency services are overwhelmed? Just because something is the easy answer doesn't make it the right one.
For those still unconvinced, look to France with its ban on alcohol advertising and the HCup. Short term hospital admissions for binge drinking symptoms are on the rapid rise, notably among young people. Here in Ireland we have a problem with alcohol that needs to be addressed. Try again and this time try harder.
Kate McEvoy : Munster fan in a sea of Leinster blue. Raised on a strict diet of Bective Rangers. Earliest childhood memory is stud marks in the muck. Former hooker for a father & a mother with an eye for a forward pass bordering on freakish . Best rugby memory, Toulouse main square, May 24th2008. Epitaph will read “Knew a lot about rugby for a girl.” Can be found tweeting optimistically at @ImKateMc
