Cricket & Advertising don't mix (part II)

Following on from an earlier post, it seems like curse of advertising on our cricketers continues. KFC have been advertising their new 'it might be chicken' quite prominently throughout the Test series, with advertisements featuring the likes of:

• Mitchell Johnson (seems more occupied with showing off his underwear than with bowling well);
• Steve Smith (see earlier reference);
• Cameron White (recently dumped as T20 captain, though did score some handy club runs of late); and
• David Hussey (who should be on alert for injuries, falling pianos etc).

This trend of advertisers going with useless, washed-up or injured cricketers is really starting to make me wonder, why would they pick these players? Is KFCs advertising budget as cheap as their "food"? Or are they a bit smarter than the rest of us & are really appealing to the common man with common men?

Thought of the Day: Cricket & Advertising don't mix (part I)

Observe if you will the above packaging, witnessed last weekend at Coles, Northcote Plaza.

I was as surprised as you probably are, seeing that the worlds most identifiable brand is placing broken down or washed up cricketers on its product to help promote it. To elucidate:

• Steve Smith (far left): Has proven that, as a cricketer, he makes a fine trainer;
• Shane Watson: Brilliant cricketer when fit, which isn't now (or previously, or soon);
• Brett Lee: 400 years old and very, very weird;
• Doug Bollinger: Played some Test cricket until he couldn't be arsed and realised he made cash from being in ads pretending to still be a Test cricketer;
• Nathan Hauritz: Could have been placed in the ad out of sympathy, similar to the reason he was picked to play for Australia last (not this) summer; and
• Brad Haddin: Quite a good dropper of the ball, which is a unique skill for someone who still plays and practices the game.

So, is this another example of the curse of advertisers on cricketers, greater support of the theory that Cricket Australia doesn't know how to market itself, or perhaps a combination of the two?