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False Advertising
A guide promoting a product. Is he sponsored? In this case — He wishes!
Okay, so I was surfing the World Wide Web the other day and I come across this website of a guide that I have met in passing once or twice. I am curious, so what do I do? Well, I do what any person would do in this situation- I click on the link. What I find is a website with decent photography and a nice layout. I'm intrigued so, naturally, I dive in a little further to learn more about this guy. At this point I am thinking to myself, hey this guy seems quite professional so I continue checking things out when I come to the tab that says sponsors. So I think to myself, how can this guide have sponsors? He has only been guiding a couple of years or so and I am pretty sure he is not fishing in any high-profile tournaments... hmm? I click on the tab to find a long list of big-name companies that includes boats, tackle companies, sunglasses, etc... This is where I completely lose interest. Why you ask? Well because it is false advertisement.
First of all, let us look up what Mr. Webster has to say about what a sponsor really is. Webster's defines a sponsor as- a person or organization that pays for or plans and carries out a project or activity.
This definition, as it applies to fishing, means that the person or activity would actually be a company and the project or activity would be, of course, fishing. In short, this guide is saying- these companies have so much faith in my abilities that they are paying him to stay in business and more importantly, represent them.
Now, let us look at the word 'paying' and pick it apart for what it is. Payment can come in several forms. In most cases it means that a check is written to the guide or angler every year or quarterly, etc. or, in the case of big ticket items such as boats and motors, the product is given to the individual at no charge as payment. As for rods and reels and stuff like that, well if a company comes to a guide and says, "we're going to supply you with all of the rods, reels and support that you need to conduct your business or support your tournament efforts." Well that certainly constitutes payment in my mind.
But what about the guy, like me, who receives the occasional rod and/or reel at no charge and is given a form to purchase additional equipment at a discount. Does that mean that I am 'sponsored' by that company? Heck no, I am not. What that means, more than likely, is that I like that particular brand and have gone to the independent sales rep for a company who, hopefully, likes me enough to throw me a bone. And, it doesn't hurt that I will be putting his/her products into my customer's hands. That is it. No checks were written and no contracts were signed.
Hey guys, it is one thing for a guide to believe in a product or support a company by requesting permission from the company to place their logo on a website. It is a totally different thing to say, "Hey look at me, I bought a fishing reel for 30% off and they gave me a hat- I have a sponsor!"
That is one of the problems with the world of 'fishing guides' today- the business has been propped up by a booming economy for so long, all that one needed to do was pick up the phone and say, "I'm a guide and would like to buy this or that." And, all you had to was supply a copy of a guide's license and fill out a form and boom- instant discount. What do you want to bet those days are over?
I guess the point that I am trying to make is that is one thing for a guide to promote a product that he/she likes and believes in by wearing a cap, placing a sticker or placing a logo on a website and it is another to say... well, if you have read this far, you get the point. All of these 'professionals' should start holding themselves to a higher standard. The people who hire them should expect no less.
First of all, let us look up what Mr. Webster has to say about what a sponsor really is. Webster's defines a sponsor as- a person or organization that pays for or plans and carries out a project or activity.
This definition, as it applies to fishing, means that the person or activity would actually be a company and the project or activity would be, of course, fishing. In short, this guide is saying- these companies have so much faith in my abilities that they are paying him to stay in business and more importantly, represent them.
Now, let us look at the word 'paying' and pick it apart for what it is. Payment can come in several forms. In most cases it means that a check is written to the guide or angler every year or quarterly, etc. or, in the case of big ticket items such as boats and motors, the product is given to the individual at no charge as payment. As for rods and reels and stuff like that, well if a company comes to a guide and says, "we're going to supply you with all of the rods, reels and support that you need to conduct your business or support your tournament efforts." Well that certainly constitutes payment in my mind.
But what about the guy, like me, who receives the occasional rod and/or reel at no charge and is given a form to purchase additional equipment at a discount. Does that mean that I am 'sponsored' by that company? Heck no, I am not. What that means, more than likely, is that I like that particular brand and have gone to the independent sales rep for a company who, hopefully, likes me enough to throw me a bone. And, it doesn't hurt that I will be putting his/her products into my customer's hands. That is it. No checks were written and no contracts were signed.
Hey guys, it is one thing for a guide to believe in a product or support a company by requesting permission from the company to place their logo on a website. It is a totally different thing to say, "Hey look at me, I bought a fishing reel for 30% off and they gave me a hat- I have a sponsor!"
That is one of the problems with the world of 'fishing guides' today- the business has been propped up by a booming economy for so long, all that one needed to do was pick up the phone and say, "I'm a guide and would like to buy this or that." And, all you had to was supply a copy of a guide's license and fill out a form and boom- instant discount. What do you want to bet those days are over?
I guess the point that I am trying to make is that is one thing for a guide to promote a product that he/she likes and believes in by wearing a cap, placing a sticker or placing a logo on a website and it is another to say... well, if you have read this far, you get the point. All of these 'professionals' should start holding themselves to a higher standard. The people who hire them should expect no less.