Dr. Timothy Dewhirst, a professor in the Department of Marketing and Consumer Studies, wrote a commentary in the Toronto Star about the NHL’s decision to include brand advertising on player helmets this season.

He said branding has become normalized with hockey in the last few decades and that while the helmet ads are likely the result of the NHL looking for ways to offset lost revenue and appease sponsors, “advertising space on helmets is likely now here to stay.”

Dewhirst is senior research fellow in marketing and public policy in the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics. His research expertise includes sports, arts and entertainment marketing.