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Nevermind my last piece where I explicitly stated that the Blue Bulls’ home kit (which was blue) was a safety blanket. Its as though the away kit was a curse and the blue stood as a symbol of stability.
Our home kit against South African opposition will be a Captain America suit this season. This is SupeRugby. Are we now all superheroes? The Lions will be Spider-Man, The Sharks Black Panther and The Stormers will be Thor.
This is a result of the collaboration between SARU, DSTV, SuperSport, Marvel and Vodacom. Thus these kits will only be worn when South African franchises take on opposition South African franchises. South African matches will be akin to my “Injustice: Gods Among Us” fights on PlayStation.
Marvel being involved in (particularly South African) SupeRugby is the interesting part. Presumably, you would assume this is to assist in marketing the franchises a bit better and to a wider demographic. Empty stadiums are a staple of the South African package, the exception being DHL Newlands.
They are experts at transforming normal “local” celebs into well-recognized international brands. Each of their superhero characters started as fictional characters in page-turner comic books. One suspects that is what they are attempting to replicate down here.
Superheroes are stereotypically targeted at children, from infant toddlers to kids in their late teens. SARU may simply be making a play to get more kids into the game of rugby by associating the sport to their childhood heroes. Adults who associate with superheroes are considered “geeky” in a positive way, sort of like those you find on the once popular TV show Big Bang Theory. It is a questionable branding ploy, and a dangerous one too.
Are geeky young adults and children going to change the channel to SuperSport and go to Loftus Versfeld(#BullsFamily) because of this “advertising tactic”?
Who knows? But to reach their goal SARU will need to be more pragmatic and poignant. The Pretoria personality needs it to be. The Americans can do a lot but how much is that? Because this is big. SARU must be desperate.
