The French Open came to a climactic close on Sunday, but some viewers were distracted by the broadcast on NBC. In the U.S., broadcasters used CGI to impose an ad for Jersey Mike’s Subs right onto the court. Viewers were not pleased, and many had some harsh words for the advertisers.
The French Open has kept much of the sports world enthralled for the last two weeks, pitting some of the best tennis players in the world against one another. On Saturday, June 4, Rafael Nadal triumphed over Casper Ruud to win the title once again. However, some fans felt that the occasion was spoiled by a shimmering Jersey Mike’s logo laid over the court. The CGI formatting only drew extra attention to an ad that fans felt was odd in this context.
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The French Open is played on traditonal clay tennis courts, so advertisements couldn’t be carved or painted on even if the organizers really wanted them there. On top of that, tennis fans felt like NBC and Jersey Mike’s were going a long way to reach an audience that might have a pretty narrow overlap with their target demographic.
In the end, all the social media chatter about this advertisement might have been the point from the beginning. Here’s a look at how tennis fans reacted to the Jersey Mike’s logo on the French Open court this weekend.
Not Very French
For one thing, commenters felt like this ad was in direct opposition to French culture at large.
Relatable
On the other hand, some viewers felt like Jersey Mikes was at least a better advertising option than some of the other sponsors tennis has taken in the last few years. They hoped this would help make the sport more mainstream and relatable.
Clay
Users also joked about the optics of printing a food logo onto clay.
Target Audience
Some fans assumed that tennis fans are generally health-conscious, and therefore not interested in fast food.
Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes was watching live and she held a lively discussion about this advertisement on Twitter. She and many of her followers did a double-take, assuming they must have imagined the logo.
Commitment
Fans joked that they would have respected this effort more if Jersey Mike’s had shown the commitment to pay for an in-person graphic, not a CGI add-on.
Tennis HQ
Finally, many fans joked that they would now be assuming that every Jersey Mike’s restaurant was full of other tennis aficionados like themselves.
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