Voxpop

Following the Adidas legal victory permitting the use of its ‘three stripes’ device on Wimbledon players’ clothing, what are the implications of removing size restrictions for logos in sporting events?

There are no implications. The All England Club is breathtakingly naive to imagine it can ‘stop the over-commercialisation’ of the game. Professional sport is big business. Sponsors’ logos and ‘walking advertising hoardings’ are facts of life and part of the visual landscape. Commercial sponsorship isn’t at odds with sporting excellence.

John Spencer, Director, Spencer du Bois (pictured)

The question here is who needs whom. Adidas believes it has been greatly prejudiced by the proposed interpretation of the Wimbledon dress code, and the event organisers have recognised that the three stripes are more than a design effect. All partners should be aware of the ingredients of a modern brand identity, then they can all be winners.

Rod Petrie, Performance and development coach, Design Bridge

Anyone honest will tell you that size does matter – the right size, that is. It’s a soon-to-be bankrupt company that decides having a bigger logo is a substitute for creating great products that people really want to be associated with.

Lee Coomber, Creative director, Wolff Olins

Until a sporting brand does something that interferes physically with a match or its participants, it’s all fair game. This is a competitive market, with media exposure and ever-increasing brand noise. In a world where referees can only start the game when ad breaks have ended, we can’t complain too bitterly about logos on shirts.

Martin Carr, Director, True North

If we are going to remove guidelines, we have to be realistic – commercial organisations (such as Adidas) are going to take advantage. However, they should consider each sporting event in isolation and respect the traditions and heritage of the sport in question.

James Glass, Connections manager, Juice

This tells us what we knew all along. Logos aren’t everything. The ruling in favour of Adidas will elevate the status of secondary devices in sports sponsorship. Will people associate the ‘three stripes’ with Adidas? Yes. Assiduous marketing by this company means they will.

John Hall, Director, Curious (pictured)