So, earlier this week I made a rant about why all of these advertisers are calling the Super Bowl “The Big Game” even though it is patently obvious (or at least should be) what “big game” is being referred to. I wondered aloud, perhaps too loudly, why people simply are not able to call a spade a spade. As I figured was the case, lawyers were involved and the NFL has been particularly fierce in defending its trademark for the Super Bowl for many years. I therefore thought it worthwhile to examine a bit why the NFL defends its trademark so fiercely and what sort of companies end up being official sponsors of the Super Bowl to examine a bit the narrowness of the acceptable use (in the NFL’s eyes) of the Super Bowl in one’s advertising.

Let us begin by noting that the Super Bowl is not a very distinctive name. Yes, it is a trademark of the NFL, but not a very distinctive one. Super, as an adjective, is not particularly descriptive, and the term “Bowl” to describe two football teams playing each other in a championship or exhibition goes back at least to the Rose Bowl from the early 1900’s. In fact, long before the Super Bowl began, the following bowl games were already extant: Rose Bowl (1923), Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sun Bowl (1935), Cotton Bowl (1937), Gator Bowl (1946), Tangerine/Citrus/Capital One Bowl (1947), and the Liberty Bowl (1960) [1] [2]. All of these games, not coincidentally, featured warm locations in the Southern part of the United States and were played on January 1. The NFL has used the term Bowl since 1951, when the Pro Bowl was used to describe the exhibition match of the “best” players from the league during the year, in a similar way that college exhibitions also use the term (see “Senior Bowl”). The NFL has used the term Super Bowl since 1968 to describe the match between the AFL and NFL winners, and then the AFC and NFC after the two leagues merged.

The fact that the general public (and not just in the United States either) connects the Super Bowl to (American) football is largely due to the great effort that the National Football League has spent in promoting its product. In fact, the generic nature of the name itself and its lack of natural distinctiveness accounts for why the NFL defends its trademark so ferociously [3]. The ferocity of the NFL is due to weakness and vulnerability rather than strength. The fact that I grew up thinking of the Super Bowl of Motorsports almost as frequently as the Super Bowl, because of where I grew up, indicates that the Super Bowl as a name is fairly vulnerable to being diluted as a trademark. In fact, this is often the case, that those institutions or privileges that are defended the most ferociously are the most vulnerable. Those who are secure and strong are more relaxed, while those who are insecure or feel threatened (regardless of how wealthy and powerful they are) are going to be ferocious in defending their interests and their privileges, seeking that ferocity as a way to project strength where weakness is felt.

According to the NFL [4] [5], here are the following official sponsors of the Super Bowl this year: Lenovo, Pepsi, Courtyard by Marriott, Bridgestone, General Motors, SAP, and FedEx. McDonalds hosted the Pro Bowl and Southwest Airlines is the official airlines of the NFL. From this sort of list, it can be seen that the NFL tends to have official sponsors in very targeted ways, as there is one computer company, one hotel, one soda company, one tire company, one car company, one business software firm, one logistics company, one airline, and one restaurant. Some of these companies (Pepsi, GM, Fed Ex) seem particularly keen on being in the name of the awards given to football players as a form of brand promotion. Clearly, these companies believe it is worthwhile for their name to be closely connected with the NFL and its product and are willing to spend the money to advertise their own products and services in association with the NFL. As long as the NFL remains an immensely popular and profitable product, it will attract such corporate support. However, the NFL understands (perhaps better than many of the fans who support it) that their position as the most popular American sporting league is a vulnerable one, and is prickly and defensive as a response.

Among the greatest threats to the NFL’s profitability and reputation is a ticking time bomb in the form of a health care crisis. A growing number of former (and even current) players have shown increased alarm over the issue of concussions and resulting dementia as a result of playing, and the health care expenses of retired players who sacrificed their health and mental prowess to play football for entertainment could be a massive problem for the NFL to deal with, especially if it is shown that the NFL itself acted with willful negligence towards the well-being of its former (and current) players. Sadly, the biggest threat to the NFL is not some other league, but rather its own culture and behavior. In the meantime, I’ll see you at the big game, or at least we’ll be watching the same thing, more than likely.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_college_bowl_games

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowl_games

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl#Super_Bowl_trademark

[4] http://nflcommunications.com/?s=official+super+bowl+sponsors&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

[5] nflcommunications.com/category/press-releases/