DEALS & DOLLARS: MEDIAWEEK'S Langdon Brockinton reports
that Anheuser-Busch has agreed to be an associate sponsor
and exclusive beer advertiser of "SportsCentury," ESPN's
upcoming 18-month series....Sources say Nike has signed on
as a sponsor of CBS' broadcast of the PGA Championship in
'98 and '99....7-UP "may soon" become the official soft
drink of the Big Ten and Big East (MEDIAWEEK, 12/8 issue).
BRANDWEEK NEWS & NOTES: Visa will leverage its
sponsorship of the U.S. Ski Team by offering retailers the
"Visa Rewards" program, "triggering" donations to the Ski
Team. PA-based SAI Marketing has produced a ski rewards
coupon book, with partners including Alamo Rent-A-Car,
United Airlines, Ray Ban, Chevrolet and Head, with discounts
of up to 40%. The program runs this January and February.
...Hormel Foods will spend $2M-plus in a link with Brett
Favre and the Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board's "Milk
Mustache" campaign. Favre is Hormel's first celebrity
endorser....Thompson Consumer Electronics will leverage its
new three-year NFL sponsorship with a TV campaign to support
a Super Bowl Savings promo, offering consumers $50-$200 off
RCA branded merchandise (BRANDWEEK, 12/10 issue).
NOTES: Tonight's "Entertainment Tonight" will have a
preview of the Reebok commercial that will be put in the
cable TV version of "Jerry Maguire" ("ET," 12/9)....Nike Dir
of PR Lee Weinstein wrote a Letter to the Editor of the
Hartford Courant in response to a November 19 editorial
titled "Nike's Dirty Business in Vietnam." Weinstein said
the editorial "didn't present all the facts" about
improvements made at Nike overseas factories (HARTFORD
COURANT, 12/10)....Celtics President/coach Rick Pitino, who
made "about" 60 appearances in KY, will make "only about" 15
this season, some for Citizens Bank (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/10).
