cnbc special on the UFC

[sanjuro_ronin]

Coca-cola has to spend more in advertising...they have stronger competition and, admittedly, a larger target demographic.

HD has a strong 'fan' base and has much more in the way of word of mouth advertising ( in other words...how many coke drinkers wear coke t-shirts and put coke stickers on their car)?

The issue isn't that HD is as big as coke...just that they are a mainstream sponsor.

What other sporting events does HD sponsor ?

[AmanuJRY]

What other sporting events does HD sponsor ?

I've seen plenty of HD commercials during NFL, NHL, NBA games...almost as many as coke.

What kind of brand community does coke have?

What about bike rallys like Daytona or Sturgis? Does Coke sponsor events like that?

We could go on and on with this or you could just agree that HD carries some weight as a sponsor.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I've seen plenty of HD commercials during NFL, NHL, NBA games...almost as many as coke.

What kind of brand community does coke have?

What about bike rallys like Daytona or Sturgis? Does Coke sponsor events like that?

We could go on and on with this or you could just agree that HD carries some weight as a sponsor.

Uh, no one was arguing that, far from that, it was the mainstream "definition" that we were playing with.
I don't think that anyone can argue that Coke-Cola, Nike, Addidas and such are more mainstream than HD.

[BruceSteveRoy]

i think the examples are flawed. you would have to look at it as a percentage of market share. what percrentage of motorcycles bought are HD? what percentage of soft drinks bought are coca cola? What percentage of sneakers bought are nike? if i had to guess i would say HD is most likely the #1 selling brand of Motorcycle in the U.S. (of course i don't knwo its just a guess). but the number of motorcycles sold pales in comparison to the number of soft drinks or the nuimber of sneakers etc. so it should be a very fluid definition of what mainstream is. you are going by sales numbers. but what i would say is a better measure is its social relevance and recognition. and like i said if asked to list brands of motorcycle most people would begin with HD.

i guess my point is that most people buy sneakers and softdrinks but most people do not own motorcycles. so by your definition the motorcycle itself is not a mainstream item. but it is a widely accept means of transportation and therefore if you were to look at the mainstream brands of motorcycles HD is mainstream.

[BruceSteveRoy]

by the way this thread is a train wreck. i know how it got so far off topic but it still is amazing to me. anyway, i thought all around it was a decent show. and yeah i had forgotten about gracie saying that the fighters arent the best bc of the rules. i thought that was a very interesting point. and the way he said it brought it in to a new perspective.

[sanjuro_ronin]

by the way this thread is a train wreck. i know how it got so far off topic but it still is amazing to me. anyway, i thought all around it was a decent show. and yeah i had forgotten about gracie saying that the fighters arent the best bc of the rules. i thought that was a very interesting point. and the way he said it brought it in to a new perspective.

Its not that much of a train wreck, it was the whole "mainstream" thing and we just ran with it.
MA are always looking to argue, even if there is no argument there !!
Too much Yang !


GJJ has always prided itself on being the "last man standing", look how much publicity they gave Helio's 3 hr match with Santana.
Hardly realistic for a system the prides itself on realizim.

The UFC has changed and wll continue to do so as it attracts even more of the WWE audeince to it.
Se Gene's last post on the boxing VS MMA thread.

[AmanuJRY]

Uh, no one was arguing that, far from that, it was the mainstream "definition" that we were playing with.
I don't think that anyone can argue that Coke-Cola, Nike, Addidas and such are more mainstream than HD.

No doubt they are 'more' mainstream, HD is still up there. Anyways, the thing is millions of people knew about HD before the UFC...unlike sponsors like Tapout and Xience.

...and of American MMA fans, I'd be willing to wager it's a better sponsor than Coke.

...Gatoraid maybe...

As for the thread being a trainwreck...I wouldn't say so. Our debate hasn't trailed off into juvinile name calling or a flame war....and we are debating a topic from the show...