Brands understand the passion of international sport. Daily Telegraph readers it seems do not.

Brands are drawn to sports for the same reasons the fans are.

It’s about elite performance, it’s about the competition, it’s about the drama and above all it’s about the passion. And where international sports are involved its about national pride.

National pride doesn’t mean being right-wing or racist – it’s simply pride in your nation.

Fuller's get it. The brewer runs great ads, by DCH, with emotive words from Shakespeare’s Henry V: ‘Once more unto the breach dear friends. Once more’. Stirring stuff.

The BBC even get it. It’s ads tell viewers that in the 6 Nations you don’t play the team, you play the nation.

But, it would seem, some Daily Telegraph readers just don't get it.

After the mediocrity of the past 1,2,3,4,5…6 years (yes, it really has been that long) England’s mauling of the French last week should have brought universal outburst of euphoria and optimism. Not so.

The players exuberant try celebrations were ‘grotesque displays of trumphalism’ to one reader. ‘The extravagant behaviour of some England players at Twickenham last week directly reflectss the extravagance of their new strip’, whimpers Vincent Gormally of Parbold, Lancashire.

Hardly. That Delon Armitage would kiss the English rose after scoring a great try against our arch rivals is hardly a hanging offence.

Let’s face it – it was not comparable to the increasingly ridiculous Robinho kissing the Manchester City badge after scoring against Chelsea just days after accidentally declaring his joy at signing for Chelsea….errr Manchester City. D’oh.

GI Joe at WrestleMania XXV

Here’s a curious sponsorship deal for all you grapple-fans out there.

The Army National Guard (ANG), which is a little like our TA,  has been unveiled as the presenting sponsors of WWE’s premier annual event, WrestleMania.

Now, the WWE is an incredibly strong brand in the US, so much so that it runs a massively successful ‘Smackdown Your Vote!’ campaign during national elections to urge young voters to poll. I kid you not.

But is it the right platform for the US army to be recruiting its next generation of soldier?

In the UK the armed forces are supported by the charity Help for Heroes, which last year staged its first annual rugby match at Twickenham between sets of ex-professional and army players.

This extremely worthy fundraiser for ex-servicemen and women drew strong links between the ethos of rugby union and the armed forces in its promotional marketing: bravery, honesty, togetherness. All values held dear by both groups.

But what exactly the partnership between ANG and WWE says about US army values is puzzling.

WWE is a make-believe, albeit harmless, theatre in which officials are frequently knobbled, rules seemingly hold no significance and the language is as colourful as the spandex outfits of the wrestlers themselves.

While the scale of the spectacle will ensure the message will reach millions of potential young army recruits this association leaves me feeling rather uneasy. War is very real and wrestling is very panto… it’s an odd blend.

The Marketing Industry Triathlon: Swim, Bike, Run… but not necessarily at the same time.

Today Marketing has announced its official involvement in the inaugural Marketing Industry Triathlon.

The event, which is being presented by The Contact Group, Human Race and the MCCA, takes place on 10 July at Dorney Lake, Eton, Windsor - home of the 2012 Olympic rowing regatta. We aim to raise £100,000 for our two chosen charities; Clic Sargent and Alzheimer's Society.

The day includes a full-length triathlon for the super keen, but also shorter distances for fist timers as well as a team relay.

Many are put off triathlon over concerns over costs. With that in mind I will be bringing you information on cheap wetsuit/bike hire once details they become available as well as handy triathlon hints and tips along the way.

Please feel free to email me with any questions relating to the day itself or triathlon in general at edward.kemp@haymarket.com

As way of background Triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the UK, with the London Triathlon now attracting around 13,000 competitors of various ability each year. Our event comes just a few weeks before the London Triathlon so should appeal to those of you looking for a timely warm up event.

Although the sport has never caught the attention of the mass media, Britain has an excellent pedigree in Triathlon. In recent years Tim Don and Helen Tucker have both been crowned world champions while Chrissie Wellington has won triathlon’s ultimate event, the Kona Ironman for the past two years.

Marketing have no such heroes but will be entering two competitors nonetheless; myself and Joe Thomas – We hope to see as many of you as possible on the start line.

Entries, which are open to anyone in the marketing, advertising, media and PR industry, are now available at www.humanrace.co.uk or call 0208 399 3579

Evolve or die

Where darts and cricket lead, others– probably quite shrewdly – are now following.

The Premier League of Darts and Twenty20 cricket have enjoyed great success – attracting outside investment, sponsors and punters galore.

Today we hear there will be a whizzy new swimming event, dubbed ‘duel in the pool’. The event, which despite sounding like a game from Sky1’s ‘Gladiators’, will be swimming’s answer to the Ryder Cup.

Personally I find have little interest in swimming, so I’ll reserve judgement. But governing bodies have at least cottoned on that they must evolve or die.

Apparently a similar successful event already exists between the US and Australia so it would seem there is a potential market for this kind of meeting.

Athletics too has been looking at relaunching itself in recent weeks with the IAAF announcing a new Diamond League of athletics. The new series, which replaces the Golden League, will involve centralised contracts for big names such as Usain Bolt.

In a bid to woo TV audiences the series, which will come to the UK for two meetings, will focus on head-to-head clashes. Athletics toyed with the idea of one-on-one meetings in the past with American 200m sprinter Michael Johnson taking on 100m runner Donovan Bailey over 150m.

The event was a massive anti-climax as Johnson pulled up injured halfway through the race.

Iraqi athlete closes in on Winter Olympic dream

To me the Olympics, both Winter and Summer, are all about the stories behind the athletes and here’s one that caught my attention.

Faisal Faisal is on course to become first Iraqi to participate in Winter Olympic Gamesa after finishing 28^th at the 2009 FIBT Skeleton World Championships in New York on Sunday. Faisal stood out from the other competitors by wearing a ‘skull-face’ mask given to him by a friend.

Faisal, who lived in Wales for a couple of years as a boy, moved back to Baghdad aged 7 and lived through two wars. He finally left home for Australia in 1998 on a student Visa and missed out on the 2006 Torino Games having attempted to raise funds by selling his car.

After missing out three year’s ago Faisel now looks like he may qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and would carry the national flag should he achieve his goal.

I’d like to wish Faisal all the best in qualify for the 2010 games and will keep you updated with his progress through this blog.

Alternatively, you can check out his latest news and send messages of support to Faisal through his personal blog at www.olympicdestiny.com

Does anyone make better sports ads than Nike?

Been a bit slow on this one, but I was on holiday - nontheless this is worth a look.

Nike has had some great ads over the years and my personal favourite was a 1994 spot during the FIFA World Cup in which players in billboards come to life and kick the ball from continent to continent.

It's latest effort to mark Tiger Woods return to golf is well worth checking out...

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