Acer and Lenovo draw at Barcelona

FOOTBALL FANS will see the Acer logo proudly displayed on pitch-side advertising at Barcelona's Champions League game against Liverpool on 21 February as part of a deal that may compromise the PC-buying allegiances of the world's greatest player, Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian lights up the Barca team but his new Acer link -- part of a sponsorship deal with the club by the Taiwanese giant -- could upset some at a rival firm. Lenovo used the Brazilian in a campaign that was everywhere during the summer's World Cup competition. Indeed, the great man was officially a Lenovo Worldwide Brand Ambassador. Nice work if you can get it, and if you're a world-class footballer you can get it every time.

Oddly enough, although football matches often resemble an outpouring of faith in capitalism with global consumer brands festooning every surface, the Barcelona team shirt is one space not up for grabs by ad agencies.

Why should this be when pretty well every other kit in the world carries a logo? Because Barca considers itself the team of Catalonia, an autonomous community of Spain. Supporters of the club therefore see it almost a national team which should not have its colours besmirched by computing, gambling, brewing, cheese-making or other concerns.

Anyway, Lenovo is not standing still on the marketing front, having last week announced that it will sponsor Formula 1 team, AT&T Williams. HP pulled out of major sponsorship of the Williams team in 2005 having inherited a Compaq arrangement. HP even released a special edition camera.

The Lenovo deal with Williams will mean that eagle-eyed readers will be able to see the Chinese PC maker's logo flashing around circuits alongside those of several other etch brands. Recent sticker posters have included AMD (Ferrari), Intel (BMW Sauber), Vodafone (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes), Panasonic (Panasonic Toyota Racing), and Medion and Exact Software (both Spyker). And, um, Acer (Ferrari again).

Of course, Grand Prix racing has always pulled in the testosterone-rammed ITer. AMD and Motorola even have products that doff their respective caps to Ferrari. µ

See Also
Acer outlines plans for growth
Intel notebooks measures AMD Ferrari F1 performance
Lenovo enters F1 with Williams