The humble and oddly engrossing sport of curling somehow became wrapped in a sex toy advert controversy which caused broadcasters to stop showing qualifying footage for next year’s Winter Olympics.
A Dutch sex toy company, named EasyToys, attempted to capitalise on interest in a tournament to decide the final spots in the curling competition at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
EasyToys were due to show their ads during the commercial breaks at the qualifying event that was taking place in the Netherlands. However, their non-explicit logo reportedly proved to be too much for American and Japanese broadcasters who promptly cancelled their live stream of the event.
USA curling tweeted an apology on Saturday 5th December to viewers who weren’t able to watch the opening round of their team’s match due to “an unforeseen sponsorship conflict with the local organizing committee.”
— USA Curling (@usacurl) December 5, 2021
The event’s promoter Dagmar van Stiphout is quoted by the Associated Press as saying: “We informed them which sponsors there are. I can imagine they are surprised about the reaction, but not surprised about the sponsors we have.
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“I’m not the right man to have an opinion what is normal in which country. I think they’re also surprised, but it’s best to ask them.
“Of course, it’s a pity that it’s happening now. We will go on with the tournament. We do it for the athletes. We’ll carry on with the event.”
Footage from the event shows that the EasyToys logo was on full display to the cameras on both the advertising boards and the ice.
Henrik Holtermann gives Denmark 🇩🇰 an early advantage with a hit and roll that gets both yellows moving and primes a score of three in the first end. 👏#OQE2021 #curling #Roadto2022
— World Curling (@worldcurling) December 6, 2021
Watch live on Recast at https://t.co/fy3vfdBx89 pic.twitter.com/xDeesa9zoV
The WCF spokesperson Christopher Hamilton told AP on Monday: “A number of solutions to resolve our broadcast partner policy complications surrounding sponsor agreements and usage.”
EasyToys describes itself as the “the market leader” for sex toys in the Netherlands and Belgium and even sponsors Dutch second-tier football team FC Emmen.
