Today’s sports section of The Irish Times has an interesting exploration of the impact of advertising on women’s sports:
From course to catwalk: a new image for women’s golf
“Women’s tennis vamped up its image thanks to the look, and actions, of Anna Kournikova. Now women’s golf is looking to do the same, writes RICHARD GLLIS
“THE EARLY summer of 2001 was a seismic moment that altered the development of women’s professional sport, the aftershocks of which can be felt this week as the best women golfers from Europe and America contest the Solheim Cup.
“In the weeks running up to that year’s Wimbledon tournament, hundreds of advertising billboards across London began showing a poster of Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova. Travellers on the British capital’s underground Tube network were confronted by the image of Kournikova wearing a Berlei sports bra, smiling sweetly alongside the strapline: “Only the balls should bounce”. The poster was wallpapered across every station concourse, to the extent that no other advertiser was allocated any space. Newspapers picked up on it, editorials were run, what’s going on? . . .”
