As per the reports in Mirror, UK-based liquor major Diaego has withdrawn its support to IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore. Diageo holds a majority stake, 55%, in the company United Spirits Limited (USL), which was once owned by Vijay Mallya.
It is learnt that USL’s flagship whiskey brand Royal Challenge has been taken off from RCB’s jersey as well. The new jersey was unveiled on April 5th, and not only has RC been bumped off, none of the USL brand logos— McDowell’s and Whyte and Mackay — were present.
An official from Diageo said: .
Mr Mallya’s stake in the USL is five percent most of which, we understand, has been pledged to the banks. He is involved with the team simply in his capacity as chairman of the RCB sports management company. The team belongs to USL and there is no ownership by Mr Mallya at all.
However, USL is trying to seek sponsorship from elsewhere, while officials claim the withdrawal from RCB is part of a new marketing strategy.
An unnamed source at RCB quoted:
If the USL brands used to advertise in the past, they used to do so on a paid basis. This year they have changed their whole ways of marketing and strategy. After the new management took over, they have refocused their investment.
The change in marketing strategy has reflected in their withdrawal from the White Mischief cheerleaders as well. Diageo said that the vodka brand’s sponsorship of the cheerleaders goes against the moral philosophy of the company.
A company official confirmed:
The whole platform itself is changing for the White Mischief girls. Diageo has a clear marketing code where we are clear about sexual success and social success for women. It has to fit into that. There is also a big change in the kind of marketing that White Mischief is doing. That is not a reflection of IPL per se but how White Mischief has changed its marketing strategy over the last year and a half.