• Ad Age, Monday, February 9, 2009 10:32 AM

Advertising is becoming a whipping boy for recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, Jack Neff and Jean Halliday report, leading to a conundrum. To drive sales, TARP recipients must spend on marketing. But that's tough to do when there are vocal constituencies among politicians, the media and the public denouncing marketing or advertising as an unnecessary expense.

Polls show a heightened public outrage against anything that smacks of corporate waste or indulgence, including marketing expenditures that seem frivolous or overpriced, says Richard Luker, chief strategy officer of event-marketing firm TBA Global. Naming-rights deals (like Citigroup's $400 million sponsorship of the New York Mets' new stadium) that once symbolized strength have come to represent high-profile reminders of the sponsors' current weakness.

Teams, leagues and marketers need to communicate better why such deals make business sense, according to Luker. "These are more complex deals than people often realize, and there's a lot that the teams and leagues could do to communicate the value," he says.

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