Advertising & Sport. The controversial alliance

Advertising and the modern sport born in the same period, both are children of modernity, are the result of economic and social transformations of the late nineteenth century: industrialization and mechanization determine, at least for the emerging middle class / lower middle class, a progressive liberation from physical fatigue and an increase in leisure time to be used in sport and recreational activities; at the same time they produce large amounts of goods, that are to be sold through a more extensive use of advertising. It shouldn't surprise, then, that the one between sports and advertising is an established relationship and, in some ways, substantial. Consider the discipline that best expresses the values of industrialization: cycling. Since the first competitions, riders have linked their name to that of the brand of the bike with which they competed. Sport has thus become a means of promoting the sale of a product, the bike, which was designed for a mainly non-sport use. In addition, having rapidly conquered the interest of a wide and mixed audience, sport immediately became important as a tool to draw attention on advertising messages located in stadiums, along the route of the race or on the sports pages of newspapers. How this relationship has evolved along the course of decades is in plain sight for all: not only competitive sport (amateur or professional) cannot do without sponsorship, but, almost always, the sheer physical activity does not escape the logic of brand and marketing (i.e. using a certain ski means at the same time to show its brand and to promote it among other people doing the same sport). But does this alliance between sports and advertising only have positive consequences (meaning more funding for sport), or does the reality of a controversial alliance actually hide behind this appearance of perfect marriage?