Vladimir Putin Sports Yota Advertising for Russian Mobile Provider

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Putin Displays Yota Logo

Putin’s jacket displays the Yota logo

There was controversy back in 2012 about the official sponsors of the Olympic games forcing athletes to not display logos of their sponsor brands. The Sochi Olympic games came with their own controversies, but the branding rules stand. For the athletes anyway, as the Russian President wore a fleece with several brands displayed, including Russian mobile network provider Yota.

Yota is the maker of the intriguing dual-screen phone with a standard Android phone on one side and an E-Ink display on the back. Reviews have been ‘mixed’ (mixed between mediocre and bad). Here is a picture:

yota1

Yota has been intertwined with Putin for a while, being largely responsible for pushing through a large mobile deal in 2012. Having the logo so prominently displayed on his jacket is a clear indication of continued support.

What do you think? Should the President of a country be displaying a select number of brands from his country?

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

8 Comments on "Vladimir Putin Sports Yota Advertising for Russian Mobile Provider"

  1. Boy, I just don’t think it matters. Then again, I think the Olympic branding rules are brain dead anyway. I guess it goes back to when the us basketball team with contracts with competing apparel makers covered up the official logos on the medal stand. I simply don’t care about advertising and logos, so it just doesn’t matter to me.

    If President Obama wants to wear a fleece jacket with a Nike logo, or New Balance athletic shoes – it’s fine with me.

    • I agree with you, Doug. If companies are willing to spend their money to sponsor a team, it makes sense that they get some kind of recognition. As long as it isn’t grossly distracting, I don’t see a problem with logos on clothing.

    • Sure, it is fine if he wears an off the rack item with a logo … but this is a very specific sponsorship – of a specific product, by someone who has railroaded corporate deals through even shareholders weren’t sure were good ideas.

      And are we saying that the official sponsorship of the leader of the US is for sale? What if Sony is the high bidder, or Samsung? Where does the money go? And what if the jacket has AT&T rather than Verizon and the following year AT&T sales go up 20% … has the government colluded to raise profits in a non-competitive way?

      • I look at it like this: If a world leader is wearing a jacket with current sponsor logos for and at an Olympic event in his country, he’s not doing anything wrong; he is supporting the sponsors of the event. If he wears the jacket the day after the Olympics, then that might be a different thing.

      • It’s just not that important to me. As long as I have been alive, every President has basically had about even popularity ratings, so for every person who would buy what the president wears there would another who would switch away to a competitor. Sony and Samsung don’t count in your example – you talked about the President wearing logos for companies in their countries.

        I don’t care about it, but, of course, enough do that it just never happens much here. Russia is not here, though. It’s a completely different culture and the President rules.

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