Tag: kia

Suns jersey sponsor PayPal wants Robert Sarver out, but booting him from NBA requires more pressure

PayPal will end its partnership with the Suns if Sarver remains involved with the team.

Phoenix Suns governor Robert Sarver’s one-year suspension is an example of a punishment that doesn’t fit the crime. It isn’t nearly severe enough considering the racism, misogyny and sexism uncovered by the NBA’s investigation of his workplace conduct.

The lenient punishment has drawn criticism from all corners of the basketball world, including LeBron James and Chris Paul. The latest to show disappointment in commissioner Adam Silver’s ruling is PayPal, a sponsor of the Suns whose logo is proudly displayed on the front of their jerseys.

On Friday, PayPal said if Sarver remains involved with the Suns once their current deal expires at the end of the season, the company will end its partnership with the team.

“PayPal is a values-driven company and has a strong record of combatting racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination,” PayPal CEO and president Dan Schulman said in a statement. “We have reviewed the report of the NBA league’s independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and have found his conduct unacceptable and in conflict with our values. PayPal’s sponsorship with the Suns is set to expire at the end of the current season. In light of the findings of the NBA’s investigation, we will not renew our sponsorship should Robert Sarver remain involved with the Suns organization, after serving his suspension.”

PayPal isn’t simply calling for a more severe punishment. The company is joining a chorus of people who want Sarver permanently removed. This is the first big domino to fall in his potential sale of the team, because once money starts talking, people have to listen.

While PayPal’s statement is important, however, it’s just a first step in a battle that will require even more pressure on Sarver, the NBA and other team owners. In a press conference on Wednesday, Silver called the potential removal of a team from its owner a “very involved process.” In other words, it’s a headache he or the league doesn’t want. And the NBA already has support from another sponsor, with Kia saying Friday it stands with the league.

If the NBA is going to be pressured to remove Sarver, it’s going to take more sponsors to come out on the side of PayPal. Under Paragraph 13 of the NBA constitution, via Forbes, NBA owners can only strip another owner of their team, by three-fourths vote, if that owner “fails to fulfill” a “contractual obligation” in “such a way as to affect the [NBA] or its members adversely.”

Sarver’s behavior and the subsequent PR should qualify as adversely affecting the NBA on its own. But if not, a loss of sponsors and league revenue certainly would. More importantly, losing money could make Sarver decide to voluntarily sell the team rather than put a legal fight in court over a forced sale.

The last instance of a team being removed from an owner was the Los Angeles Clippers and Donald Sterling, which resulted in a lawsuit that the league had to settle. And even that sale required Sterling’s wife, Shelley, to first remove him from the family trust in order to take control of the Clippers.

The sponsors are important because Sarver is only going to dump the team when it’s not worth his time or energy to own it anymore. The only people who can make him feel that way are the people who make him money. The players could also potentially make his life more difficult, but it would be an even worse look for the NBA if players have to step away from their professions to do something it should have taken care of in the first place.

Selling the team, of course, is hardly a punishment itself. Sarver bought the Suns for $401 million in 2004. The team is now worth $1.8 billion, according to last year’s Forbes analysis. That doesn’t make it any less necessary and the added outside pressure will be hard to ignore.

It wasn’t until the Washington Commanders’ stadium sponsor FedEx threatened to pull its partnership before team owner Daniel Snyder agreed to change the team’s name. Similar action from Suns stadium sponsor Footprint would go a long way towards putting similar pressure on Sarver. PayPal alone isn’t enough, but it is a good start.

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WATCH: Kia releases Josh Jacobs documentary following Super Bowl

Following Kia’s Super Bowl Sunday commercial featuring Josh Jacobs, Kia released a documentary about Jacobs. 

Following Kia’s emotional and heartwarming Super Bowl Sunday commercial featuring former Alabama and current Oakland Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs, Kia released a documentary about Jacobs.

Last week, Kia released their commercial featuring Jacobs.

Many people know Jacobs’ story. He grew up homeless, at times even living with his four siblings in his father’s car. But he overcame those obstacles. He quickly became a household name while at Alabama as he impressed the world with his talents. He finished his career at Alabama with over 1400 rushing yards and 16 TDS as well as 571 receiving yards and 5 receiving TDs. Simply put, Jacobs played his heart out, and it showed. But it was more than that. It was his story that inspired so many. It was his passion, hard work ethic, and grit that helped him quickly rise and become a first round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

His rookie year was nothing short of impressive,  and it’s a big reason why he’s was named the PFWA’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. This season, he rushed for 1,150 yards and 7 TDs. But his stats don’t show all. He’s made huge plays consistently, and helped revamp a team who has been struggling for quite a while.

WATCH Josh Jacobs stars in Kia’s Super Bowl ad targeting youth homelessness

Before he was a star at Alabama and a first-round draft pick in the NFL, Oakland Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs was homeless for stretches as a child. He bounced around with his father and siblings between hotels and, for one brief stint, …

Before he was a star at Alabama and a first-round draft pick in the NFL, Oakland Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs was homeless for stretches as a child. He bounced around with his father and siblings between hotels and, for one brief stint, slept in a car.

“I understood what was going on, but I didn’t think it was as bad as it really was,” Jacobs told The Washington Post last year. “I guess I kind of normalized everything.”

Now, Jacobs’ rise and the issue of youth homelessness and are at the center of a Super Bowl ad unveiled by Kia on Wednesday, in which the running back counsels his younger self. The 60-second spot is part of the company’s “Yards Against Homelessness” campaign, in which Kia has pledged to donate $1,000 for every yard gained in Super Bowl LIV to three charity partners.

“We at Kia both admire and identify with Josh’s tenacity and determination,” Kia Motors America’s director of marketing operations Russell Wager said in a news release.

Watch Kia’s full spot, which is titled “Tough Never Quits,” below.

Ad Meter rewind: 5 of the best spots of 2013

Taking another trip down Ad Meter Memory Lane, we’re turning back the clock to 2013, the last time the San Francisco 49ers played in the Big Game. Super Bowl XLVII-the battle of brothers John and Jim Harbaugh-was a close one, with the Baltimore …

Taking another trip down Ad Meter Memory Lane, we’re turning back the clock to 2013, the last time the San Francisco 49ers played in the Big Game.

Super Bowl XLVII—the battle of brothers John and Jim Harbaugh—was a close one, with the Baltimore Ravens holding off a third-quarter rally by the 49ers to edge out a 34-31 victory. It was the first Super Bowl loss in 49ers history.

From the commercial side of things, a 34-minute blackout in the Superdome allowed for plenty of time to focus on the ads. The cost of a 30-second spot in 2013? Approximately $4 million. That was a record-high buy in at the time. Based on 2020 numbers, though, companies would be saving themselves over a million.

Of those that did take the Super Bowl expense plunge that year, based on Ad Meter rankings, here were five of the best:

Anheuser-Busch: Horse and trainer reunited, 7.76

The top spot in 2013 went to Budweiser’s “Brotherhood,” a feel-good tale between man and horse (Clydesdale, to be exact). It was a three-year journey squeezed perfectly into 60 seconds and scored by Stevie Nicks’ “Landslide.” And the ending? It was hard to find any “nay”sayers when considering that type of cinematic buildup.

Tide: Miracle Stain, 7.75

That looks like Joe Montana! One unique stain on a 49ers jersey captivated people and created a fan frenzy around the sports world in this 2013 Tide ad. Unfortunately, the man’s wife—a Ravens fan—didn’t think it was right to leave the stained shirt lying around, so she washed it. (Looking back, she could say the Ravens won twice that night.)

RAM: Farmers, 7.43

Narrated by the iconic voice of the late Paul Harvey—the longtime ABC broadcaster—Ram Truck’s nod to the American Farmer in 2013 was another epic tale that almost seemed like a short film.

Doritos: Fashionista Dad, 7.27

 

A bag of Doritos was all it took for this little girl’s dad to change his plans for the day—from football to an all-out princess extravaganza. Even the man’s friends had no problem making the switch once they saw what was being served at the party.

Kia: Spaces Babies, 6.74

While the Super Bowl XLVII crowd wondered when the lights might come back on, the dad in this Kia ad was wondering how he was going to answer his son’s not-so-simple question: Where do babies come from? His response was eloquent, outlandish, and played out in a hilarious inner-thought montage.

 

Want to be part of this year’s Ad Meter voting? You register now to be a panelist.