I’ve always supported non-endemic sponsors entering the sport of snowboarding.  So while many people core to the snowboard industry used phrases like “Sell Out” and “Lame” in response to Shaun White’s decision to drop Volcom as a sponsor and sign with Target, I greatly supported his decision.  Though there are downsides to non-endemic sponsors increasing their monetary support of young action sports athletes, such as injury due to increased progression pressures, I believe the financial support to fund new endeavors, and thus, more opportunities for young riders, far outweighs the costs.

But there’s a line.

In a 2009 Fast Company article, authors joked that Shaun wouldn’t accept an attractive offer from even Heinz ketchup (come on, flying tomato – totally made sense, right?) because he sticks to his values and won’t put his name on just anything.  I respected Shaun for knowing what he valued, and for sticking to that, despite the number of dollar signs involved.  But the radio ads I’ve been hearing here in LA with Sean White repping Goodrich Tires makes me wonder… what changed?  And what the heck does Goodrich Tires have to do with action sports, other than racing, anyway??  (Ok, so I know Toyota announced earlier this year their sponsorship of Louie Vito, but everyone needs SUVs to get to the mountain, right?  And I thought they executed their sponsorship of the Dew Tour and Louie Vito in a way that was really transparent and humble.  For example, I learned about the contract with Louie a few days before it was officially announced, while being driven from the town of Breckenridge to the mountain in a private Toyota car, where a number of Toyota employees were working all weekend to provide free transportation to and from Dew Tour events for the snowboard community).  But I don’t quite understand how tires fit into the equation.  Shaun even recently became the spokesperson for Stride Gum.  Sorry, Shaun, but I’m kind of starting to lose respect.

The sports business side of my brain thinks it’s not the best sponsorship opportunity for Goodrich Tires either, especially considering the dismal way they leveraged and executed their sponsorship.  According to an article in Grind TV, Shaun announced the speculated partnership right before the start of the X Games 15 in Aspen (so, right before one of the largest, worldwide snowboard events?), and the company actually released some pretty funny videos of Shaun “trying” to drive a race car.  However, through the follow-up advertising campaign, it seems that the company is targeting your average joe, everyday car driver, so in my opinion there’s somewhat of a disconnect because the series does nothing to actually showcase the features of the tires.  I’m sure they forked over a multi-million dollar contract (after all, an athlete like Shaun White doesn’t come cheap), but unless they’ve seen an exuberant amount of increased sales through this campaign, I think it somewhat missed the mark.  Worst of all, they’re doing nothing to actually support the action sports community as a whole, other than filling SW’s pockets with more dough.  The action sports sponsorships that are the most effective are ones that are mutually-beneficial, not completely one-sided like this one. Meanwhile, for Shaun, his fans will go on calling him a “sell out.”

Anyway, what do you guys think?  Wicked cool, or major bust?