Do You Fancy a Fox?

Something I've never really understood is when a company 'sponsors' a TV show. Like for the Simpsons it was always 'The Simpsons, sponsored by Dominoes Pizza'. How do you sponsor a TV show? To me sponsoring means giving someone money if they manage to achieve something like run a marathon or something. Are Dominoes giving the people who make the Simpsons pizza as a reward for showing it? It's what I assumed happened when I was younger.
To my understanding 'sponsoring' something means to splash your logo over another product. I can kind of see how this works in theme parks, the Pepsi Max Big One being a prime example. When people talk about their holidays and show photos the Pepsi name gets shared. A bit pointless seeings as everyone knows what Pepsi is anyway but still, it spreads the word.
Then we get to TV shows. As I write this I'm watching Deal or No Deal and there's a new insurance company who have slapped a mini-advert at the beginning and end of every break. Its 2 people opening Deal or No Deal boxes with a scenario in one and the insurance company in the other. It's not the worst but still totally pointless. The fact I can't even remember the name of the company shows this. I'm sure it took a team of people to come up with that and many man hours were spent coming up with how they could make the mini-adverts memorable. So what they've done is show more red boxes being opened after 15 minutes of people opening other red boxes. Genius.
As the break finished I can confirm the sponsors are More Than. Just in case that was bugging you.
Before I get onto the Foxy Bingo fox I'm trying hard to remember other 'sponsored by' ads that were good or memorable but I physically can't. They are that forgettable. Sonic sponsored the Simpsons for a while which was just footage of the game, 118 sponsored Lost forever with the un-funniest adverts I've ever seen. It was just the moustached guys hiding behind chairs in silence and things, it just left you hating the huge sky1 adverts even more.
Another confusing one is the Toyota Aygo adverts on T4 which accompany The Simpsons and Big Bang Theory. A barrage of metal ball things cascade down a street or car park then one turns into a car. What? Also T4s main fan base is teens and mid 20 year olds, a Toyota Aygo is hardly the first car they would want to buy.
And now the Foxy Bingo Fox. It seems to alternate with that awful other sponsor of the Jeremy Kyle Show of fat woman at a swimming pool being as a funny as clowns at a funeral. Who came up with the Foxy Bingo Fox?
'Right guys, our mascot needs to be like a fox, but have the body of a human. He also needs to have a strong northern accent and say things totally out of context nothing to do with bingo. 'You're the one that I want' for example, 'do you fancy a fox?' That'll get people to sign up!'
Do you fancy a fox? What does that even mean. Is he referring to himself in 3rd person? Is Fox supposed to sound like fuck? Both? It makes so little sense.
At least its memorable. Last year I signed up for a free trial of Foxy Bingo so it must work on some level. Or maybe I'm just an idiot.
I really don't think sponsoring a TV show will sell you more of a product. I'd happily sit through a 30 second advert for Sonic Generations than see 5 seconds of it at the start and end of the Simpsons. In the world of advertising it just makes no sense.