Your eyes weren't deceiving you if you though you saw Juan
Valdez sitting at the U.S. Open. Valdez, the fictional
spokesperson for Columbian Coffee is known "to turn up in
unexpected places," and one of those was the U.S. Open. Carlos
Sanchez, the actor who portrays Valdez in ads, was at the
tournament as part of a promotion by DDB Needham Worldwide
Marketing/New York for the National Federation of Coffee Growers
of Colombia. The federation was a sponsor of the Open, and
offered free coffee to fans. Peter le Comte, President of DDB
Needham Worldwide Marketing: "It's our first foray into sports
marketing and we wanted to maximize the exposure." Valdez was
seated where he would be visible during CBS' coverage of the
event (N.Y. TIMES, 9/11).
SIGNAGE REPORT: The following is a list of some of the
companies that had signage at the 1995 U.S. Open. STADIUM
PORTALS: Infiniti, FujiFilm, Redbook Magazine, Prudential
Securities, Chase, Mass Mutual; STADIUM COURTSIDE: Heineken,
Cafe de Colombia, FujiFilm, Redbook, Mass Mutual, USTA, Infiniti;
TIME CLOCKS: Citizen; SPEED INDICATORS: IBM; STADIUM BANNERS:
Mass Mutual, WTA Tour, USTA, Chase; BALL PERSON KNEE MATS: K-
Swiss; BLIMP: Fuji. The linesmen and ballpersons were outfitted
by Fila (THE DAILY).
