Coca-Cola Co. has signed NBA rookie Grant Hill to serve as
the centerpiece of its Sprite brand's NBA sponsorship. Hill will
star in a global campaign, continuing agency Lowe & Partners'
"Obey Your Thirst" theme. The first ads featuring Hill will
begin during the NBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix. Coca-Cola
joins GMC Trucks, SkyBox, Wilson and Schick as companies which
have hired Hill as an endorser. According to Tom George,
VP/Athlete Marketing at Advantage Int'l, Hill's ad exposure for
the first half of '95 may be close to $20M (Matthew Grimm,
BRANDWEEK, 1/23 issue).
OTHER BEVERAGE NEWS: Britain's Cadbury Schweppes is close
to announcing a $1.3B agreement to acquire Dr Pepper/ Seven Up
Cos. Cadbury already owns 26% of the company, and reportedly
will pay $33-$34 a share for the remaining 74%. After the
purchase, Cadbury would hold about 17% of the U.S. soft drink
market (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/23)....Everfresh Beverages, an IL-
based company, will sell $.99 Everfresh fruit drinks from 12
ounce glass flasks starting in April (Becky Beyers, USA TODAY,
1/23).
