Lever 2000 Becomes Lead Sponsor Of U.S. Open Series

Soap brand Lever 2000 has signed a three-year deal as the “lead sponsor” of the U.S. Open Series, according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Lever, which will also sponsor the U.S. Open, is “formally the presenting sponsor of ESPN, NBC and CBS broadcasts of the events, though it does not have that designation for the U.S. Open Series as a whole.” Lever will use the series as a platform for its “A Great Match” ad campaign, with “at least 200 ads on the series broadcasts.” Lever is also title sponsoring the “Bonus Challenge,” under which players who “do the best during the series double their U.S. Open prize money.” Lever is the “first company outside the sport to buy into the series,” as Mass Mutual, American Express and Olympus were U.S. Open sponsors before signing on to back the series. Octagon is Lever’s sports marketing and ad agency. The USTA deal marks Lever’s first sports sponsorship since it launched in ’90 (SBJ, 5/15 issue).