Calgary's Cheryl Bernard, who won a silver medal for Canada in women's curling at the 2010 Winter Olympics works out at her Calgary gym in this Jan. 21, 2010 photo. Bernard and her teammates used billboards to attract new sponsors. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill GravelandBill Graveland/The Canadian Press
Winning an Olympic silver medal may not have paid off for Cheryl Bernard, but advertising has.
The Calgary skip, one of the most high-profile curlers at the 2010 Vancouver Games, found herself without a sponsor at the start of this season.
Bernard had told her two previous long-time sponsors - a restaurant and a drilling company - that the team wouldn't ask them for any more money after 10 years of support. So she launched an advertising blitz with a series of billboards on major routes around Calgary.
The billboards included a photo of Bernard and teammates Susan O'Connor, Carolyn McRorie and Cori Morris with the message "SPONSORS WANTED … Hurry Hard!" They paid off in a big way.
"We ended up with two, a really great platinum and a gold sponsor," Bernard told The Canadian Press. "I'm shocked."
The platinum sponsor was Dairy Queen, which signed on for one year, and a car dealership in Airdrie, Alta., came on as a gold level sponsor for three years. Financial terms weren't released.
Bernard had joked about being in a position of "will curl for food" when she launched the billboard campaign last month. Now, with Dairy Queen on board, she and her team will be curling for ice cream
"We'll curl for Blizzards," said Bernard, who is known for her strict fitness regimen. "That will be good."
Bernard doesn't know if other curling teams will adopt the advertising strategy in a Canadian economy that has struggled in the past couple of years.
"Am I starting a new trend?" she asked. "Maybe. Who knows?"
She said it's time curling teams do a bit more to give sponsors something for their money. She said her rink will be working with Dairy Queen for the annual fundraiser each summer for the Children's Miracle Network.
The skip will be getting a lot more exposure. She is one of the models in the 2011 Women of Curling Calendar and says she doesn't mind promoting fitness and health for women.
The wall calendar also features Jill Officer, who plays second for Jennifer Jones, and five-time national champion skip Colleen Jones.
In all, there are 13 Canadian curlers in the calendar. Previous versions had more international curlers and fewer Canadians.