Recently, TowersTimes held an online petition, after many fans of the Alton Towers Resort were enraged by the recent sponsorship deal between the Resort and soft drink, Fanta. The petition, which was sent to Nick Varney, Chief Executive of Merlin Entertainments, asked for members views on the current state of the Alton Towers Resort, and their feelings on Oblivion.
The sponsorship saw many parts of the ride covered with light-hearted, ‘funny’ slogans and pictures – a complete contrast to the theme and atmosphere that Oblivion and X-Sector in general aims to create.
Nick Varney, after receiving the Petition and Comments, sent a personal reply to the members of the TowersTimes forum. In the reply, he directly adresses the issue of the Oblivion sponsorship. He said:
“Following your comments, I recently walked through the entire Oblivion queue and ride station area. There is no doubt that unlike the original Coke branding, this is not themed as sensitively to the ride concept as it could have been. I cannot make any promises at this stage as we have a contract with Coca Cola, but we are making efforts to see what we can do to improve the situation. We take the integrity theming and “story”’ for our rides and attractions very seriously, so please regard this as a one off which is not a symptom of more to come.”
Since receiving the reply, much of the sponsorship has reportedly been removed from the ride, with only a few posters remaining in a nearby food outlet.
I don't think Six Flags would get away with doing that. The Whizzer and Demon are classic rides with a lot of sentimental value around the area. Most Chicagoans first coaster was Whizzer, and Demon was probably their first looper. This sentiment is as true of the general public as it is the enthusiasts, so changing the names could potentially result in backlash.
