The Angels today will announce a multiyear deal that will see BodyArmor become the team's official sports drink, the "first team sideline/dugout deal for the upstart sports drink company," according to Marcia Smith of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. BodyArmor-branded "coolers, towels, paper cups, squirt bottles and refrigerators containing various flavors" will be visible in the Angels dugout this year, replacing "all evidence of Gatorade." Angels CF Mike Trout signed a personal endorsement with the company in '12, and the team's deal was "brokered in part" by the reigning AL MVP. Trout is the reason BodyArmor "has been stocked in the Angels kitchen and clubhouse since 2013," and he wanted to have the drink "during games and in the dugout." Trout last season "noticed how many of his teammates were drinking Bodyarmor and asked the training staff about having it available in the dugout." However, sponsorship rules "prevented him from drinking anything that wasn't in a Gatorade-branded container." The Angels-BodyArmor partnership is the "biggest marketing impact Trout has made as he evolves both as a superstar ballplayer and pitchman" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/2). The WALL STREET JOURNAL notes Gatorade is the "national sports drink sponsor" of MLB, but teams are "free to negotiate their own such deals for regular-season games." More than half of the 30 teams "have their own deals with Gatorade" (WSJ.com, 4/2). Pepsi, which owns Gatorade, retains pouring rights at Angel Stadium. Pepsi has had pouring rights at the venue since '98 (THE DAILY).
FORD THOSE WHO THINK YOUNG: The Mariners yesterday announced that they have renewed their multiyear sponsorship deal with Northwest Ford Stores that designates Ford as the team's official car and truck. Ford will be the presenting sponsor both of Opening Day festivities on April 6 and of the three-game opening series against the Angels. Ford also will sponsor the regular in-park updates of MLB scores and the Hat Trick feature on the Safeco Field videoboard. Meanwhile, the Mariners yesterday also announced the creation of the Pepsi Fan Deck at Safeco Field. Pepsi, the team's official soft drink since '97, will have a presence on ballpark signage, including on a bottle cap near the center-field flagpole that is 11 feet in diameter and stylized with the company's red, white and blue logo. The Pepsi logo and name are also displayed on a 28-foot lighted sign near the left-field bleachers and in the lower-left corner of the MarinersVision HD videoboard in center field. There will be an interactive hologram of Mariner Moose that will greet fans on the Pepsi Fan Deck (Mariners).
MOTOR CITY: In Detroit, Bill Shea reported the Tigers and California-based Falken Tire have "agreed to a multiyear corporate sponsorship deal that will add the brand’s signage to Comerica Park this season." Financial details and the number of years in the deal "were not disclosed." Falken signage "will flank the ballpark’s right-centerfield scoreboard." Falken said that company reps will be at the ballpark during 10 games this season, including Opening Day, to "give away lanyards and other Falken-branded products to fans." The sponsorship is Falken’s "first outside of motorsports" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 3/31).
