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Will Tesco be the first and last Spice sponsor?

Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Mel Varley, Latest reporters' blogs October 16th, 2007 by Melinda Varley

Supermarket giant Tesco has signed up the Spice Girls to star in two television ads in the run-up to Christmas. But does the brand suit the pop group who were once just as famous for being sponsorship tarts as they were singers?

On the surface it seems like a risky move for both Tesco and the Spice Girls. The supermarket is hardly as sexy as their previous sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Impulse or Sony Playstation. However, after signing up Emma Bunton for a campaign earlier this year at the height of her Dancing with the Stars fame it may just make a little bit more sense.

Four out of the five Spice Girls are now mums. Do they do groceries more than they drink Pepsi and eat Walkers Crisps? Probably not, but the point is supermarkets are associated with domestic duties.

Not only that, most brands would have a hard time getting a look in due to the group’s previous sponsorships and their own business ventures.

For example, Victoria Beckham has her own perfume, her own fashion label, and she’s worked with various other fashion labels. Any sponsorship to do with fashion would clearly be a clash somewhere and would no doubt get under the style queen’s nose if she was told what to wear.

But it’s a wonder why none of the other 20 brands that previously sponsored the Spice Girls are making a come back with the band.

At the height of their popularity, the Spice Girls endorsed over 35 products and signed 20 different sponsorship deals. They were the face of Polaroid, Walkers Crisps, Pepsi and Impulse.

The girls also worked with Asda, which is notorious for using celebs. So why not re-sign the Spice Girls?

Is it perhaps that brands are too weary of getting involved with the girls as they are simply on a come back tour that will last, at the most, a couple of months. What would be the point in getting on board with something that was, until a recently, considered a has been?

Or is it that what the girls have done since the glory days doesn’t fit in with the culture of sponsorships and ‘it’ people? It’s pretty safe to say, the Spice Girls are hardly going to be as famous as they were ten years ago, and we can’t say how successful their reunion will be so perhaps its too risky to take them on for anything other then a seasonal campaign that will last as long as their comeback.