Ad Nauseam? Sports Fans’ Acceptance of Commercial Messages During Televised Sporting Events

Advertising, promotions, and other marketing communications are commonplace in the contemporary world of sports. Are sports fans irritated and annoyed by this commercial bombardment? This study investigates consumers’ perceptions of commercial messages during televised sporting events. The results indicate that fans of two of the most popular U.S. sports (NFL and NASCAR) generally have high levels of sport commercialization acceptance (SCA). NASCAR fans — particularly those highly identified with the sport — are the most tolerant of commercial messages. While older fans are more likely to be annoyed by advertisements, women are more tolerant. To test the potential implication for sports marketers, the study also measured customers’ brand perceptions of Miller Lite beer — a prominent NFL and NASCAR advertiser. Beyond greater commercialization acceptance, NASCAR fans that drink Miller Lite also demonstrated higher perceptions of brand equity and emotional attachment to Miller Lite compared to the brand’s customers who were NFL fans.