Ball State Univ. has signed Mattingly Sports to an equipment and apparel deal for the baseball team. The deal, executed between Mattingly and Ball State coach Alex Marconi, represents Mattingly’s first college deal. Mattingly VP/Sales & Marketing Jim Bel Bruno said the company is focused on moving deeper into the college baseball space. Mattingly was founded in '05 by former MLBer and current Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and is based in Shelton, Conn. (Michael Smith, SportsBusiness Journal).  |
Some blue-chip brands will have product
placement in ESPN Deportes' "El Diez" |
MAKING THE PITCH: In N.Y., Stuart Elliott notes ESPN Deportes’ “El Diez,” or “The Ten,” which premieres on Sunday, will have “blue-chip brands woven into the story line, which is centered on a young professional fútbol (soccer) player in Mexico City.” The presence of the brands within the 10 episodes “will be in addition to conventional commercials.” The brands “getting the biggest parts” in “El Diez” are American Airlines, Burger King, Chevrolet, Coors Light and The Home Depot. ESPN International VP/International Marketing & Program Development Juan Alfonso said, “This is our first, and if it goes well we plan to do more of it” (
N.Y. TIMES, 10/28).
SIGN HERE: In Albany, Pete Iorizzo writes NBA Kings rookie G Jimmer Fredette is "already inspiring several lines of merchandise.” The latest is a T-shirt that “features the contract Jimmer's older brother, TJ, asked him to sign when he was a junior at Glens Falls High School.” The shirts are made by Chris Collinsworth, a “BYU teammate of Jimmer's who owns Fold Clothing.” The shirts are “sold at foldclothing.com and Angelina's, which is the Fredette family's favored pizza joint in Glens Falls.” The company “gives 25 percent of its sales to charity” (Albany TIMES UNION, 10/28).
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! In S.F., Scott Skinner wrote Packers QB Aaron Rodgers “may be the best quarterback in the NFL right now,” but when it “comes to filming his Associated Bank commercials, he’s still got a lot of room for improvement.” With Colts QB Peyton Manning out for the season, the “Best Commercial by an NFL Player” award is “up for grabs.” If Rodgers “wants to take the title, he’s going to need to step up his game a little bit” (SFGATE.com, 10/27).
