Reach out and touch AT&T
This spring, at a lavish dinner to which some 200 guests had been invited, “including dignitaries from sport, television, Hollywood and the ski industry,” one of our own, Dave McCoy, of Mammoth Mountain, was awarded the AT&T Skiing Award, just as other greats had in the previous nine years — people like Billy Kidd, Andy Lawrence, Warren Miller, Jimmie Heuga, Stein Eriksen, Bob Beattie, Willie Schaeffler.
It sounds great, you say? What’s wrong with it?
Probably nothing, in this age of relentless commercialism, if you can see nothing tacky in this bushwacking of our legends to serve the public relations image of a communications company. Trouble is, AT&T simply hasn’t paid its dues.
The set-up is slick, the process impenetrable. We can all learn our public relations ABC’s from it. There is an Award Nominating Committee of some 70 people, mostly ski press. They are called on to nominate worthy individuals based on most noble criteria: “an individual whose commitment to excellence and dedication to skiing has profoundly enriched the sport.”
From this group come nominees, of whom three distinguished ski world figures are magically declared to be “finalists.” Then the hype begins. The biographies and photographs of the finalists are circulated to the press, the names exploited in the context of what is always described as the “prestigious” AT&T Skiing Award. For some reason, in apparent suspension of whatever journalistic independence they might have, or perhaps bellying up to AT&T’s advertising dollars, the compliant press picks it all up, breathlessly speculating on the voting for the winner of what they dutifully echo as the “prestigious” award. One otherwise worldly pro takes the line and sinker along with the hook and actually uses his publication to lobby for his favorite.
Meanwhile, everyone waits expectantly for the decision of the 30-person Award Selection Committee, comprised of an interesting mix of ski celebrities, ski journalists, international racing greats, collectively described as “international ski personalities.” They include Gerald Ford, Chiharu Igaya (1960 Olympic Medal winner), Willy Bogner, George Gillett, ski editors John Fry and Dick Needham, Billy Kidd, Bob Beattie, Richard Pound (v.p. of the International Olympic Committee), Gian Franco Kasper (secretary general of the FIS) and Bob Horowitz (executive producer, GGP Sports). It is beside the point to speculate on what many of these knew about this year’s nominees: Doug Pfeiffer, Diana Golden and Dave McCoy.
In any case, a “winner” is produced from among the “finalists” and the press is again bombarded with lavish, silver-embossed press releases and glossy, full-color background material.
Still, what’s wrong?
What’s wrong is that AT&T, for what to them is petty cash, exploits us, not honors us. The ski world owes AT&T nothing. Well, in checking, we found that a long time ago, AT&T did help the U.S. Ski Team out on some race communications problems. Since then, nothing. Zilch. Annually approached for sponsorship, forget it. They “gave at the office.” With the skiing elite and ski press neatly tied into their award, who needs to lay out sponsorship dollars?
It’s masterful! Thirty ski world biggies lend their names to AT&T for the price of flattery, while the same currency buys 70 members of the ski press to act as a Greek chorus that hails and authenticates the whole process. And, of course, three finalists and a winner whose accomplishments are co-opted by AT&T.
Frankly, we know of no reason that this telephone company should deserve the reflected glories of our Dave McCoys and Andy Lawrences. AT&T is no supporter of skiing like Subaru, or its competitor, U.S. Sprint.
We told you this would be mean-spirited. Just chalk it up as our contribution to industry marketing: It seems to us that our sport’s exploitation should not go for a penny less than an annual half million in sponsor money.
Or maybe AT&T could do something constructive, such as taking over the well-intentioned, but perennially hat-in-hand National Ski Hall of Fame. Not only could they keep the glitzy trappings of their “prestigious” award, but for the price of tearing up the mortgage of the new Hall of Fame building, plus a handsome annual retainer, they could add the trophy rights to call it the AT&T National Ski Hall of Fame. (Incidental note: eight of the ten AT&T Award winners had already been inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame. What a natural for merger and acquisition!)
A sellout? You bet! But why not a worthwhile, problem-solving sellout instead of a fawning, valueless giveaway?
—A SAM editorial
