Once upon a time, sports fields were green. Sometimes with subtle stripes mown into the lawn, and white painted boundary lines approproate to the sport, but in general, pitches were green as grass.

But advertising at sporting fixtures has become such big business that companies must now be increasingly innovative with their product placement.

Fixture programs are full of advertising, team members’ kits are covered in logos, and billboards surrounding the sports pitch have gone digital. In some cricket matches, when a player hits a “six”, the achievement is accompanied by a “Yahoo!” from the loudspeaker.

Another common form of sports advertising is “pitch painting”, where a logo is displayed directly on the field. Sometimes this is achieved by digitally superimposing the logo for the benefit of TV viewers. However, often it is spray-painted onto the grass to ensure all spectators can see it, and that they associate the brand with the cool factor of the sport.

Special quick-drying paint is often applied to give the impression of perspective and three dimensional shape, like this Barclay’s logo on a soccer field which seems to stand up from the ground. If you stood directly on top of the logo, it would appear stretched and distorted, but from a spectator’s point of view, it looks normal.

How long does it take to paint a logo onto a pitch ? As this video of the infield grass at a NASCAR speedway race shows, it can take a small team just three hours!

http://youtu.be/sS0TrhWe5_8