Sumo Wrestling & Unexpected Advertisements





A few weeks ago in my Japanese class, we learned about an interesting topic - sumo wrestling! Throughout the week, we did many sumo related activities. At the end of the week, it all culminated when our teacher showed us matches between different sumo wrestlers and we were supposed to bet on which wrestler we thought would win. Let me just say - I did not do great, and I lost a lot of "money." (It was really extra credit points called *my teacher's name*-Bucks, but it was still disappointing!) Anyways, you're probably wondering, "How does this relate to media?" Well, when watching the opening ceremony, my teacher explained how all the wrestlers walk into the ring wearing an apron. The apron they wear basically shows their sponsors and who supports them.
I immediately thought that this was a form of guerrilla advertising! Guerrilla advertising is when a company uses surprise or unexpected interactions to promote a product or service, and it's a type of publicity. The sumo wrestlers' aprons are simply advertisements for brands, yet they are advertisements in an unexpected place. The viewers of the match are there to watch the wrestling and have a good time, but as they are looking at the wrestlers' aprons, they are hit with advertising. Therefore, they sumo wrestlers' aprons are a form of guerrilla advertising!

Comments

  1. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2020 at 11:15 PM

    Woah, I did not realize that when I watched the sumo match. Good observation! Do you think that the ads on the sumo wrestler's aprons are an effective way of breaking through the mold of advertising?

    ReplyDelete

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