Regardless of the witty formulation one may resort to, each one is absurd and yet hits the mark: Former national soccer player Bastian Schweinsteiger, 36, who knows how to convert his great popularity into advertising income, has dribbled himself a lot, scored an own goal, and also got the yellow card – with the presentation of his wristwatch during an EM broadcast. On Monday, the ARD and the WDR as the lead broadcaster of the EM broadcasts published a statement. There it says that Schweinsteiger and his management had been asked for an explanation. It also says: “We have made it very clear that, in accordance with its guidelines, ARD does not tolerate any form of surreptitious advertising and unrecognized product placement of its protagonists.”
For the semi-finals between Spain and Italy, the last live broadcast at the EM by ARD, is Schweinsteiger again together with Jessy Wellmer as a moderator duo intended.
Schweinsteiger wears the reason why one looks so closely that the line-up continues on his left hand. The 2014 world champion had conspicuously presented his wristwatch during the broadcast of the quarter-final match between Ukraine and England. Instead of holding the microphone in his right hand, as is often the case, Schweinsteiger held it in his left hand, and the watch and, accordingly, the make and brand were clearly visible. During the half-time break, two photos were posted on Bastian Schweinsteiger’s Twitter account. One showed the popular “Schweini” talking to Wellmer. The other was a close-up of Schweinsteiger’s wrist, including the model from the manufacturer Garmin, which advertises with Schweinsteiger as the “campaign face of the new collection”. These tweets have since been deleted.
However, the matter is not over yet
This means that it is as good as impossible that one of the state media authorities will initiate administrative proceedings due to a possible lack of advertising labeling. Because at the end of this process, only the subsequent marking or deletion of the tweets could stand anyway. When asked, the state media authority for North Rhine-Westphalia declared that it was not responsible because of the reference in Schweinsteiger’s Twitter imprint to his agency. And it is located in Grünwald near Munich.
However, the matter is not over yet. The WDR is still checking. The open questions include to what extent the sender is responsible if something from the program is posted on a private account. In the case of Bastian Schweinsteiger, it was an obvious product presentation. According to a WDR spokeswoman, the name of the watch brand was linked under the detailed picture. In general, the ARD has a clear stance on surreptitious advertising, as it had already stated on Sunday in an initial statement that the SZ received: “The ARD broadcasts of Euro 2020 – like all our programs – are subject to the ARD advertising guidelines, which exclude any form of surreptitious advertising and unspecified product placement. “
As far as the exchange between the Schweinsteiger management and ARD is concerned, the WDR said on Tuesday afternoon: “We are still in contact with Bastian Schweinsteiger and his management with regard to the assessment of the matter.”