After staying married to Coca-Cola for almost 30 years, the National Basketball Association has decided to end the company’s official sponsorship of the league, and is running away with its rival PepsiCo instead.
Mountain Dew, Doritos, Ruffles and more will join Gatorade, another PepsiCo brand (which has been tied to the NBA since 1984) as the official food and beverage brands starting next season in North America, reports ESPN. That brings an end to the era of Coca-Cola, which had been in a relationship with the NBA since 1986.
The new agreement also includes the WNBA, NBA Development League and USA Basketball.
The terms of the five-year-deal weren’t disclosed, but an insider told Fortune that the effort is worth “significantly” more than the Coke partnership. Pepsi brings food to the table as well, something Coke couldn’t provide.
This agreement won’t affect which products are sold in stadiums, and athletes will still be able to endorse different brands outside of Pepsi products. PepsiCo will now have exclusive rights of association with anything to do with logos and gear on a national level, however, with Mountain Dew taking the spotlight over Pepsi itself.
Coca-Cola isn’t going to be left totally alone to cry vats of soda tears over the loss, however, as the company announced yesterday that it’ll be the new sponsor of Major League Soccer in a four-year deal. PepsiCo and MLS ended their relationship in December.
Coca-Cola said in a statement that it will “continue to have a strong presence within basketball culture through our relationships with iconic players. We will also continue to be visible through ongoing relationships with individual teams and venues.”
PepsiCo partners with NBA, has deals with four major sports leagues [ESPN.com]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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