NFL to require pro photogs to advertise Canon
National Football League rules for the upcoming season require press photographers to wear red vests that sport Canon and Reebok logos, and some shooters are objecting.
Canon sponsors the NFL.
(Credit: Canon)A Wall Street Journal story mentioned the new rule, and the National Press Photographers Association objected on Wednesday.
"It totally goes against our Code of Ethics to force photographers to advertise as if they were some sort of Nascar vehicle," John Long, chairman of NPPA's Ethics and Standards Committee, said in an article on the organization's Web site. The article also quoted Pete Cross, photography managing editor for The Palm Beach Post in Florida, as saying photographers wore Tostitos-branded vests inside-out in protest this year at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Responses to the move among photographers posting at the SportsShooter.com Web site ranged from cynical to sharply negative.
"There is no spot too insignificant on which to place a logo or other advertising," said D. Ross Cameron. "I shoot Nikon and wear Nike. Will that be a conflict of interest?" asked Josh Thompson. "There will be a lot of photographers who will complain, but there will always be a long list of photographers willing to wear the vest to get on the sidelines of an NFL game," said Mike Brice.
Curiously, photographer Gavin Smith said in August 2006 that an NFL official ordered him to cover up a Canon logo on a monopod.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
Magazine (heck, he used to be its editor) and encourage NPPA
members to call Canon and express their dissatisfaction with
such a blatant abuse of photographers. Canon says the support
professional photographers? Well, then, let's see that support in
tangible ways and not force journalists to compromise their
ethical principles just so they can do their job.
Then NFL just gets worse and worse as they seek new ways to
make obscenely more money. I'm glad I'm out of that game. I
had 15 fun years shooting NFL games, and they worse they did
to us was make us stand three feet back so the TV cameras had
a clear view of the field.
distasteful, I might check out the new Nikon DSLR's.
Do you require NASCAR employees to use Goodyear tires on
their personal vehicles?
Same diff.
I'm sick and ********* tired of the crass and indifferent
commercialism. It's enough to make me rebuke a technically
superior solution and solder on with something that works well
but that requires me to work harder.
Canon and the NFL have crossed a line here. Photographers
should always be able to choose their favored equipment, and
they still can, but to be forced to undermine their own interests
is ridiculous.
have ANY say in what logos you do or do not wear on your clothes.
Obviously the NFL is getting paid to make people wear these,
unfortunately, I'm betting they aren't paying anyone else to wear
them.
I'd tell the NFL to take those vests and shove them up their a*s! It's
one more reason I refuse to watch pro sports.
Will the camera guys who shoot with film cameras and kodak and
fuji film be forced to advertise Canon?
- An update to the story...Canon turns a blind eye
- by MichaelTiemann November 24, 2007 5:25 PM PST
- I provide an update here on the CNET ( parent . thesis ) blog: http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13507_1-9822664-18.html
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(7 Comments)Seems that Canon has not heeded the calls yet to reel in their out-of-control advertising people.