So I just turned down a $500 sponsorship for the Tybee 500 this upcoming year. I wanted to get a little feedback from you guys about my choice....
So this guy that owns a website, similiar to most any "college student wasting time online" website (like collegehumor.com, ebaumsworld, etc) approaches me because sails are good advertising tools, especially as involved as I am with the college sailors here in NC. At first I accepted, and he was going to give me $500 for a 2'x3' graphic on my mainsail and a hit on the website. Excited as I was, I was a little turned away when he sent me the graphic. It was a mouse (much like Jerry from Tom and Jerry), and this mouse was humping a computer mouse. The website is www.mousehumper.com. It is not up yet, so don't bother....Anyway, Tad and I think that it is a little crude/vulgar to display on the sails, especially around kids, so I just turned him down. What do you guys think? Did I make the right choice, or should I just take the money and roll with it?

Trey
N20 873
www.velocitysailing.com

You did the right. Only God knows how your images would have been mocked on the website. Yeah we have our laughs, but I think beach cat sailing is a serious sport. Specially the Tybee 500.

IMO you did the right thing.

I agree, it's not as easy to take off as the "boat nuts" when a kid points it out. Plus with money involved, you risk even more. There are plenty more sponsors out there like the strip clubs and alcoholic beverage companies we had planned. GO TEAM!!!

I think you did the right thing. Not only are we each ambassadors for our sport but your boat becomes an extension of who you are and what you stand for. That you turned down the offer for the reasons you stated shows more of your character than anything you could put on the sails. There's a big difference between what you might enjoy alone or among friends and what should be displayed on a 33' sailing billboard. I also detest the people who stole & modified the Calvin & Hobbes image that you always see in the back window of pickup trucks. That one is always fun to explain to the kids. I think a well produced DVD or a Powerpoint presentation would go far in getting additional sponsorship that your comfortable with. Show it to every business you see - you might be surprised that a lot of business owners would buy sponsorship more to help you out than expect a serious return on their promo.
Good Luck,

Agreed - no mouse humping on sails....besides, mice are really bad on sails.

But why turn him down instead of asking for a new graphic explaining that you would expect problems from the race organiziation and you are trying to avoid a situation where two days before the race (and with his money in your account) the graphic would have to be removed from the sail.

Jake,

After I spoke with him, he was pretty firm on wanting to use that image. Plus, I'm a little wary of putting a URL such as mousehumper.com on my boat. Lord only knows what would happen if somehow we ended up with a picture in catsailor magazine and a kid reading it decided to plug it into his address bar in IE. I just assume not associate our program with any "grey area" businesses. However, realize that I run and maintain the largest student-oriented single-university website on the internet. Its simply a left-over from when I was a student, it can be base, crude, pornographic and just downright disgusting at times. However, I don't associate that website with our team either.

mousehumper?
what is that some kind of bad joke? who the hell would put that on anything of value?

So Jake, you are going to turn down that full sponsorship opportunity from the Ft. Lauderdale Gentlemen's club? Dang. I was looking forward to meeting your ground crew!

OK, so here's a little counterpoint: There is a team of women sailors here in Colorado who race a J22 and are very competitive. They ship the boat to Texas in the Fall and race there all Winter, then do their nationals and/or the Rolex Women's Nationls. Their boat is named "Does This Boat Make My Butt Look Big" and it is plastered with a large graphic of a pendulous, cartoonish woman bursting out of a too-small bikini. They are known simply as "the Butt Boat Girls."

While their name is a bit crass, its gets them tremendous exposure. I've done stories about them for mid-sized magazines and whenever the Denver Post or Rocky Mountain News covers sailing, it's the Butt Boat and its very attractive crew that gets the pictures and a mention. But this year they had a snag. When they finished a respectable 14 out of about 40 boats at the Rolex Women's event in Annapolis, the race organizers refused to voice their name at the awards ceremony.

So...on one hand they get snubbed at a large event for having an edgy logo, but I'll bet no other boat at the Rolex, or any other event they participate in, is more recognized or well known than the Butt Boat. What is that worth to a sponsor?

I think this name works for them, in part, because they are professional, competitive, inteligent and very likable. Regardless of their boat name, people like to hang out with them. If they were geeks, the boat name would be a bad joke rather than fun and recognizable.

Hats off to you for giving your choice of sponsors such serious consideration. The question is, do you want to be known as "The Mouse Humper Boys."

You could always get the "Risque Cafe" as a sponsor!!! They might need some more 'Exposure"

Steve,

If you had met either Trey or I, you'd know that this arrangement wouldn't really suit our long term goals of Team Velocity.

In our "charter" or "mission statement" we strive to promote competitive and recreational sailing to the masses. While $500 goes a pretty long way for a Tybee campaign (it covers entry or gas right there) we're not about to sell ourselves short for a dollar at the expense of not only our integrity, but that of the race, the other competitors, or sailing in general. Call us a bit high and mighty, but I don't think a mouse humping a mouse would give us the "good" kind of publicity in a manner which would benefit our program or the other sponsors that appear on our sails and hulls.

I consider each one of the race officials and fellow competitors in that race my friend, and would rather be short $500 than meet the ire of their displeasure.

OK, so that means you don't want to be known as the The Mouse Humper Boys. I don't know you guys, but that's probably the safest bet. Carrying that around would get old quickly. The Butt Boat is a very special situation that would not work for everyone, or anyone else for that matter. Good luck in the Tybee and maybe I'll see you at the Steeplechase.

We had to put an ixnay on Steeplechase but we're currently investigating tradewinds as a field trip south.

Trey and Tad,
I know your moral fiber and this wouldnt suit you at all, so you did the right thing, But..... I do believe in the local scene you may have a new nickname!

your friend,
powerdave

thats ok.

I'll gladly give up my "Qtip with a golfball on top and toothpicks for arms" nickname

Uh oh, sorry about that guys. I didn't think it would stick.

That's alright...with Trey the "sunfish pimp" and Mousehumper Tad, we'll just scare the others off the water. What an intimidating duo! Those Seacats (aka seakittens) had best watch out!

Trey <------"Sunfish Pimp"...see me if you want a sunfish!
N20 873
www.velocitysailing.com

Oh yeah, so I think I am gonna give the Velocity Sailing Rigging Shop a slogan..."For all your dinghy needs." Think it'll work?
TB

If you're doing Tybee, you should consider the Steeplechase over Tradewinds. Distance racing practice would seem more appropriate than bouy practice... But that's just me...

Are you doing the Hogsbreath?

And given all this talk about sponsorship, perhaps I'll rename our team... "Exposure" has a nice ring to it. Maybe pick up a few nightclub sponsors. They might even throw in the uniforms:

My Exam schedule prevents me from making the trip to Steeplechase (as well as the pre-Christmas college budget), so that is what made my choice an easy one--no time + no money = no sailing. Oh well, such is life.
Trey
N20 873
www.velocitysailing.com

Oh yeah, waterbug, you don't want the night club's uniforms, you want their ground crew! Can I get an Amen from Key Sailing? I mean, c'mon, what would Kirk Newkirk do?
TB