On a hockey jersey the player’s name sits across the shoulders, above the number. Which works fine until the player has long hair, at which point her name spends the entire game hidden under a ponytail.
Molson noticed, and did something genuinely odd with it. It bought that patch of fabric as sponsorship inventory — the bit nobody can see — and used the deal to move the players’ names down below their numbers, where a camera can actually read them.
The sponsor logo now sits in the spot the hair covers. Molson pays for the space, then hides its own brand there so the athlete’s name comes out from under it. It calls itself the proud hidden sponsor of the PWHL, which is about the least Molson-ish way imaginable to spend a sponsorship budget.
The carousel, in text
1. Female hockey players often have their names covered by their hair.
2. As a result, they often miss out on the recognition and their names go unnoticed.
3. To give female athletes their due, Molson sponsored the space above the jersey numbers, which is usually covered by the players’ hair.
4. And it moved the player’s name below their number on the jersey.
5. Molson covered its own name, so hers can be seen. Absolute class.
