PepsiCo has reached a multi-year deal to become the
official soft drink of MLB, according to Steve Zipay of
NEWSDAY. The agreement is worth about $50M and is "believed
to be" PepsiCo's first "national sponsorship deal with any
of the four major team sports." The deal will be announced
tomorrow and will focus on marketing and retailing, as Coca-
Cola "has the pouring rights at most ballparks." The Pepsi
brand will sponsor the balloting for the All-Star Game
(NEWSDAY, 3/18).
LITTLE BY LITTLE? An AD AGE editorial entitled, "The
Trouble With Baseball," reports that "Pepsi's pending
sponsorship deal with MLB was once characterized as 'mega';
now, spooked by MLB's bad publicity and uncertainty over
what [MLBE CEO] Mr. [Greg] Murphy can deliver, Pepsi is
eyeing a more scaled-back program, one without national
advertising" (AD AGE, 3/17 issue).
SMILEY'S PEOPLE: Marlins President Don Smiley, on a
Brandweek report that Pro Player offered the Marlins a
multimillion-dollar deal to outfit the club: "There's
nothing to it. The way I read the agreement (between the
clubs and Major League Baseball Enterprises) we simply don't
have the latitude to strike a standalone deal" (Ft.
Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 3/13).
