How not to say ‘Rugby World Cup’

THEY’RE forbidden words — unless you’re an official sponsor, of course.

While the Rugby World Cup is the event for companies to be associated with, those words — and a one page list of anything else that can’t be associated either — are off-limits for commercial use.

Rugby World Cup, World Cup 2011, RWC, World in Union, Rugby New Zealand 2011, Total Rugby, Webb Ellis Cup and IRB — they are all banned words for anyone bar official sponsors when it comes to brand association. However, there are plenty of companies down under and globally who’ve come up with clever ways to get around the words, associating themselves with the All Blacks and the biggest sporting event in New Zealand’s history — without directly doing so.

Sky NZ are official broadcasters for the Rugby World Cup, but TV3 and its sister-channel Four have come up with creative ways to associate themselves with the event. TV3’s Cup Talk is promoted as the show that discusses ‘all things Cup’, while Four is advertising itself as ‘the home of not rugby’, which in effect is still associated with the event because you know they’re talking about the tournament.

KFC got people talking when it painted its Auckland store black, but has insisted it’s simply to promote a new variety of Mountain Dew called Pitch Black — though the store is just blocks away from Eden Park, the main stadium for the event.

Speaking of fast food, burger joint Wendy’s is advertising a “Rugby Burger” made with a beef patty, fried egg, beetroot and bacon. It’s also being served with pavlova, a hokey-pokey shake and sweet potato fries.

Air New Zealand has again proven its creativity in the advertising stakes with its Grab-A-Seat promotion “World Trophy of Fun” — a clear reference to the RWC, with images of grandstands and goalposts used. The airline has also offered reduced airfares across the Tasman “for those who prefer across the ditch to the rugby pitch”.

Comedian Raybon Kan has created “Ruby Wold Cop” and the “Global Oval Ball Trophy” mugs to highlight the curtailing of free speech created by the strict sponsorships rules. Anyone who wants a slice of his political poetry can purchase the mugs online at raybonkan.com or on Trade Me. However, Kan says: “I don’t want anyone to think I’m cashing in on the Rugby World Cup. Those words, as such, do not appear on the mugs.”

There are plenty of New Zealand establishments getting in on the act whether it be with clever displays or fun promotions. For creativity you can’t beat Hummingbird’s art installation in Courtenay Place, Wellington. The restaurant has put a colourful rugby sculpture on its balcony roof showcasing the bar as the equivalent of Auckland’s Party Central. Wellington pedestrians may have also noticed stripbar Dreamgirls has pushed the boundaries advertising itself as the “unofficial World Cup nudey bar”.

We can’t help but admire Weet-Bix for its All Black handbook, which carefully avoids the sacred words. As an official All Blacks sponsor, the booklet is chock-full of team stats and is entirely within the boundaries.

However, it’s no coincidence that it’s come out during Rugby World Cup year and includes the match schedule. Those words aren’t uttered, though. The booklet lists the All Blacks pool games against Tonga, Japan, France and Canada, but not once mentions they’re Rugby World Cup matches.

Radio isn’t immune to the rules either. Radio Sport in particular has rallied with a series of ads which make clear they’re referring to the Rugby World Cup without mentioning it. This includes an advert for Auckland pub, The Spitting Feathers, which says: “It’s the best place to watch tournaments which cannot be mentioned.”

It has also run adverts for Dick Smith in which it says the electronics merchandiser’s televisions are made to watch “that big thing that we’d get sued for mentioning”.