I love this story-
You know how-in 2021- a Supreme Court ruling led to the ability of college athletes to take endorsements and cash in on their talent and fame-just like pros could?
This was after a ‘forever’ ban had been in place by NCAA officials that didn’t allow student-athletes to take endorsements or other outside money. The cost of going to college ‘for free’ was supposed to be more than enough compensation…and the NCAA leaders didn’t want possible payoffs of malignant influences to enter college sports…etc.
Well- the court ruling changed all of that-and since that time- and in just a few short years- endorsements for high profile college athletes have spiked. Especially those who had large followings on social media-before-this change too place.
If you were a college gymnast, or a college basketball player who had an interest in social media and had a million followers before the ruling ever took place-the product marketers flocked to you-to present you with endorsements after this supreme court ruling.
Well-here’s the latest-which I love: NCAA officials now think they’ve got a quote. Hot girl problem.
Fantastic.
What is a ‘hot girl problem’?
It’s about what you’d think: it’s pretty much only hot girls-especially hot blonde co-eds- who are getting the endorsement deals…,and in today’s ‘woke’ environment…that’s allegedly a problem.
And it’s not really a problem. Is it?
It’s just a ‘condition’ of this larger culture in which the rest of us are drawn to beauty….and beautiful young women in young adulthood are always going to be the people who catch everyone’s eye. That’s simply always going to be the case.
Some activists have been trying to ‘redefine beauty’ for decades…or thrust other notions of what ‘beauty’ is on us- forever-as part of this never-ending attempt to change this dynamic…
And still… over eons…the young woman or man with the symmetrical face is going to catch the most eyes. They are closest to the physical manifestation of ‘youth’ or ‘perfection’.
And yes, in this predominantly white culture, it has been white women who have gotten the most- mass media attention- and it’s been blonde girls who have been considered ‘the most eye catching’.
It just…is what it is. And it’s not really a problem that hot, athletic, young women who have the biggest followings on social media-in this era- are getting the biggest endorsements or the most endorsements. In fact, in an earlier era, it would have been celebrated as ‘female empowerment’, correct? Look at all these young women turning themselves into millionaires by being smart about it-and mass marketing their beauty and their hard work on an athletic field.
But-in this era of wokeism- the leftists running and influencing the NCAA are certain that it’s a problem. They’ve got a ‘hot girl problem’.
And more specifically-a hot blonde problem.
I ran across a lengthy story on this that highlights the Cavinder Twins.
I’ve never heard of them, but they are twin basketball players who -the story says-aren’t the best players, just the hottest, and so they were immediately worth millions following this Supreme Court ruling….and when they came onto the scene.
The really talented girls in these sports aren’t getting the biggest endorsements.
So?
And a lot of them are black.
Again- so?
They aren’t being frozen out of the endorsements and most of them haven’t been working to -make themselves- marketable. The ‘hot girls’ getting the biggest endorsement deals have. They’ve apparently had people around them who -at some point said- we need to maximize your personal appeal because you’re not going to make the WNBA or get there based on your skill level.
So? Is that wrong? No. It’s smart.
Do these top black female athletes expect that marketers will just flock to them?
Maybe that’s the way it works in men’s sports: talent trumps beauty in most instances- but that’s not the way it works in women’s sports.
And even in men’s sports-the better looking the athlete is-the more ‘marketable’ they are. Was David Beckham the greatest soccer player in all of Europe at the time? Or was he just the hot blonde guy who all the women and gay men wanted to stare at?
Does Steph Curry get more endorsements because he’s a cutie? Sure, he does.
It matters in men’s sports too, and always has. It’s just that society- at least male society- values ‘strength, toughness, and prowess in war and sports’ as things to admire and emulate.
For women-it’s beauty. Good looking women get more attention from men- but also - from women. Right?
And so-why would this be-at all-surprising that when it comes to women’s sports-it’s the good-looking co-eds that are the most marketable?
And I’m not saying it’s all ‘fair’ or ‘equitable’ that good looking white girls are getting more, or bigger, endorsements than the more talented black players. I’m just saying- it is what it is. It’s the nature of -humans-and it’s the nature of business.
If you’re an energy drink company and you know the Cavinder Twins will really grab some attention and move your product…why wouldn’t’ you choose them over…. Helga Heferstein..who’s got face like a mud fence?
I’m struggling to think of a single WNBA star’s name-and struggling not to be mean-but- can we be honest? Do we really think businesses should be scrambling to get Brittany Griner to endorse their energy drink?
I mean-take the flag controversy and her stay in a Russian prison out of it: Brittany is…. large…and not traditionally beautiful….and has a voice more like a man’s…
Is she, logically, the face of your new energy drink? No.
And is it a ‘cultural problem’ or a problem for the WNBA, NCAA that she’s not? Well, it is if you are a left-wing activist or your primary interest is in some impossible definition of ‘equity’ …but otherwise? Probably not.
After all-marketing is the art or science of appealing to-specific groups of people. I’m sure Griner is a great choice for an endorsement if you are trying to appeal to consumers who are …what? Black women? Lesbians? Female athletes?
But is she right for a wider launch of your energy drink, as the eye-catching, bouncy, Cavindar Twins are? No. They’ve got millions of loyal ‘built in’ followers on social media- and most of them are the target age for your energy drink-and- yes-because they are pretty-and unique-they’re more likely to catch everyone’s eye more so than other people. Athlete, or otherwise.
And so- the NCAA officials can huddle all they want to over their ‘hot girl’ problem, but they aren’t going to find some fix, or easy answer to it. Not so long as the athletes-and the private corporations-are the ones deciding who is marketable. Or most valuable as an endorser.
And the only ‘problem’ that they have here-seems to be the jealousy over who’s getting the endorsements and who isn’t…and the idea that the most talented players are the most deserving.
Why? And why would they be? The ones who are the most appealing and natural in front of the camera are the most deserving…because they will move, the most product.
Again-look at men’s sports- it’s the athletes who turned out to be the most natural in front of the camera who ended up being the biggest endorsers…or who got the most attention. Look at how few endorsements Aaron Rodgers actually got as compared to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.
Brady and manning are good in front of a camera. Arron Rodgers-not so much.
He’s not terrible, but he’s kind of a dud. Any ads he’s in-they aren’t asking him to do too much. Manning has hosted SNL He has more mass appeal.
Those conditions aren’t solely seen on the women’s side of the marketing equation.
photo credit: Fox News