The combined value of EPL kit deals has hit $143.6M (all figures U.S.) this season, making it the most lucrative market in European football in that area, according to research by Sport+Markt. The ‘12 European Football Kit Supplier Report showed that EPL clubs averaged $7.2M in revenue from kit deals in ’11-12, compared to an average of $4.3M across Europe’s top five leagues. There are now 28 different equipment brands active in the “big five” leagues -- covering England, France, Italy, Germany and Spain -- and Warrior’s multi-million pound deal with Liverpool also begins next season. Overall, adidas and Nike account for 44% of the total money spent by equipment manufacturers (Sport+Markt).
MEN ARE FROM MARS: MARKETING magazine’s John Reynolds reported Mars has “launched its Euro 2012 TV ad,” which features EPL players Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Glen Johnson and Scott Parker. The ad, via Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, was shown for the first time during Sunday’s Chelsea-Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup semifinal match on ITV. It is “set around a tense England penalty shootout with the Premier League's top goal-scorer Van Persie getting ready to take a penalty as England's keeper is carried off the pitch with a knee injury” (MARKETINGMAGAZINE.co.uk, 4/16).
GEOGRAPHY LESSON: In Houston, Brent Zwerneman wrote on a T-shirt that has “since apparently been pulled from the racks, Aggieland Outfitters included the state of North Carolina on a map meant to represent the old SEC.” AO issued “a mea culpa on its website Tuesday” (CHRON.com, 4/17). The maroon shirt has an SEC logo “emblazoned on a mapped section of U.S. states, ostensibly representing members of the league.” But North Carolina, “which does not have a team in the conference, is included and Missouri is not.” Missouri and Texas A&M are both leaving the Big 12 for the SEC this year. The state of Texas “is on the back of the shirt, not the front.” AO Marketing Dir Dallas Shipp said that “only ‘a few dozen’ shirts were printed and they’ve been taken off the shelves and the company’s website” (AP, 4/17).
FINDING THE RIGHT TONE: In N.Y., Lindsay Goldwert reported model Miranda Kerr is “lending her fit curves to Reebok for their latest 3-D ad campaign for its EasyTone athletic shoes.” The ad will appear in Munich and the “full scope of Kerr’s curves can be seen with the aid of 3-D glasses.” The brand also “hired beauties like Kim Kardashian, supermodel Helena Christensen and actress Eva Mendes to sell the toning shoes” (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 4/17).
