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Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, this idiom was once seen as common sense. Don’t get rid of something good when trying to rid yourself of something bad. In our modern socially progressive culture, we seem exclusively motivated by ridding the world of all that is bad, sometimes at the expense of the good. And oftentimes the shallowness with which a situation is treated leaves public opinion devoid of subtlety or nuance.
The British Museum comes to mind. Through its 23-year partnership with British Petroleum (BP), the museum has received nearly 5 million visitors to view BP-supported exhibits. The BP-funded lecture hall for the British Museum hosts educational and public programs, which contributes to their organizational value of educating the community as well as generating revenue for the museum. BP also benefits from this sponsorship. Through sponsoring exhibits of Egyptian, Mexican, and Australian indigenous art, BP can gain social access to high-profile individuals. BP currently has lucrative business dealings in all these countries and published record profits in recent years. BP also benefits from the positive brand association with the British Museum. The term ‘artwashing’ has been popularized in recent years, indicating an organization cleaning up its public image through association with a highly respected public institution.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York City dropped the Sackler family sponsorship in the wake of the US opioid crisis. This was after it came to light that the Sackler-owned company Purdue Pharmaceuticals had intentionally promoted the prescription of oxycontin, despite
knowledge of the drug's
highly addictive nature.
Several members of the
family became embroiled
in the narrative
surrounding the US opioid
crisis precipitating the
disassociation from the
MET.
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In a story closer to home, and one that is not related to the arts but sports. Gina Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting has dropped its $15 million sponsorship of Netball Australia. This was after concerns were raised by several players over the environmental impact of mining. There was also discomfort voiced by Donnell Wallam, the team's only aboriginal player, at racist views expressed by Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock in the 1980s. And to be clear, Mr. Hancock’s views were in league with the philosophy of eugenics and the current treatment of the Chinese Uyghur minority. Ms. Wallam didn’t publicly voice her views though, choosing to share her thoughts privately with her friends and teammates. It seems unfair to once more place the mishandling of a situation regarding our country reconciling itself with its racist past, on the shoulders of a black sportsperson. This is a common occurrence for black sportspeople. When a black sportsperson or public figure voices an opinion regarding the acknowledgment of Australia’s problems with racism, their position can be hijacked by outside forces, and they find themselves facing an angry backlash over a situation not of their making. In this instance, Gina Rinehart chose to distance herself from the situation. Suggestions have been made that Rinehart’s company could apologize for the remarks made by her father, some 38 years ago. Rinehart has opted to instead criticize Netball Australia for virtue signaling and challenged the role of sportspeople in driving the public conversation on issues such as race and environmentalism.
Lisa Wilkinson on the Project described Rinehart as being naïve for thinking that sport and politics can be separated. If the purpose of sponsorship is to benefit from the positive brand association of linking your brand to one held in high regard, then it is naïve to believe that the individual members of these brands would not have a high degree of integrity that guides their actions.
Gina Rinehart is a highly successful businessperson and unlikely to be naïve. Hancock Prospecting sponsors multiple sports, community organizations, and cultural institutions. Hancock Prospecting’s sponsorship of Netball Australia was one of their less prestigious sponsorships, and therefore easy to walk away from once the association turned sour.
In our current cultural climate, it is hard to foresee what the future of corporate sponsorship will look like. In the same segment, Wilkinson suggested that Sportsbet could step in to take over the sponsorship with Netball Australia. It’s not hard to anticipate a scenario in which a sportsperson is recovering from a gambling addiction or has seen the impact that gambling can have on a community. Tobacco, alcohol, and gambling are all industries with an underbelly.
As sponsors must navigate an increasingly mindful public, there may be fewer and fewer which are deemed acceptable. What that means for the future of the arts and sports within our society, is yet to be determined.
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