Are these Gatorade ads legal?

Gatorade is pushing ads on YouTube featuring Alabama and its National Championship.
And they are showing pictures of players still in school to push a commercial product.
While it isn't TV advertising, it's obviously and admittedly an ad campaign.
Isn't that illegal?

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/07/post_16.html

 

It's not illegal to do that although the NCAA would have a problem with them playing their players for the use of their rights. I'm sure, however, Gatorade wrote a nice fat check to the NCAA to allow the use of it, so it's kosher.

 

What's the difference between Alabama selling a jersey with "INGRAM" on the back and Gatorade paying to use footage of a game with "INGRAM" playing in the game? Following that logic, why shouldn't EA Sports legally sell NCAA Football 11 with all players' names in the game?
Split the hairs for me, cause I'm not seeing it. And if I'm EA sports, I'm suing the NCAA.

 

Gatorade does not need to the NCAA. It would have to pay Alabama for the use of the images. More than likely the image use is covered in Gatorade's "official sports drink provider" contract with the school.

 

It is absolutely illegal. Years ago, my uncle produced the Pontiac High Performance Challenge commercials, you know the ones with the best plays from NCAA football: Flutie to Phalen, Desmond's Return, the kick ball against Mizzou, Kordell's bomb. Anyway, he let my brother and I help choose the plays. The rules were, the clips had to be 6 years old or more. Because none of the players would be involved. This accounted for red shirts and medical red shirts.

 

I don't think Alabama can sell a jersey with "Ingram" on the back. They can sell a red No. 22 jersey, but you won't find any with the name on the back.

 

I'd absolutely would love it if one of the players in the commercial pulled an Ed O'Bannon and sued Gatorade for using his image.

 

Correct. Goes for any sport. You can sell the number but not the name (unless said player has graduated, then the school can exploit him all it wants).

 

Link not firing, slap.

Can't use college players doing an endorsement by name from what I remember.

"Hi, this is Tim Tebow for..."

Is that what the spot shows?

 

They can't. That's my point. But Gatorade can use footage with INGRAM in it for commercial purposes?

 

They took it down... can't find a cached version

 

Of course, it might be a spurious ad, which is why al.com took it down...