Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Summer is here and baseball season is in full swing! For some, a night at the ballpark is all about taking in the game. For others, the focus is on the food and the delicious finds throughout the stadium. Food companies are making it easier, though, for consumers to bring tasty baseball fare into their homes.

For example, Los Angeles Dodgers fans and national food critics alike agree that Dodger Dogs are some of the best hot dogs in the nation. Once found only at Dodger Stadium, today, Dodger Dogs are available at grocery stores throughout Southern California thanks to food manufacturer Farmer John. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, pick up Twins Dogs – the official hot dog of the Minnesota Twins – at your local market from Schweigert Meats. Finally, Cloverdale proudly supplies the Mariner Dog to Seattle Mariners fans, both at Safeco Field and at local supermarkets.

Need to top your dog? Look no further than stadium mustard! Cleveland claims to have not one, but two brands of famous stadium mustard enjoyed by Indians fans across the state and throughout the country: Authentic Stadium Mustard and Bertman Ball Park Mustard.

What would America's pastime be without peanuts and Cracker Jack? It's Hampton Farms that provides roasted and salted nuts to your city's sporting venue. And just how did Cracker Jack (now owned by Frito-Lay) become synonymous with baseball? Check out this fun story for a complete historical explanation!

What about you? Leave a message and tell me about the baseball foods you love to chow down on at the stadium and in your home!

Super Ads Dominate Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLV is now in the record books. The February 6 game drew in an average of 111 million viewers and now holds the title as the most-watched show in TV history, making a $3 million 30-second ad buy seem worth the hefty price tag. While audiences tuned in to watch the Green Bay Packers battle the Pittsburgh Steelers, many were more interested in seeing the innovative commercials companies created for the big game. Of course, several food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies were represented throughout Sunday's game.

This year, PepsiCo's Doritos and Pepsi MAX put out a call for consumer-created ads in a Crash the Super Bowl contest that attracted more than 5,600 submissions. Fans voted online from among the top 10 finalist spots chosen by the company, and the top the vote getters for each brand aired during the Super Bowl.

PepsiCo's formula worked; the Doritos ad "Pug Attack" tied for the number one spot on the USA TODAY Ad Meter, with three others earning a spot on the newspaper’s list – a first in Super Bowl advertising history!









Other CPG companies also scored big with consumers. The Brand Bowl, presented by public relations firm Mullen and social media monitoring platform Radian6, kept tabs on what the public thought about the Super Bowl ads through Twitter tweets and sentiment. While Doritos and Pepsi MAX received high marks here as well, Lipton Brisk Iced Tea and Coca-Cola also earned accolades for their spots.





Finally, this year's Snickers commercial was apparently one to watch over and over again! The ad featuring comedians Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr was the most popular Super Bowl ad this Sunday, based on the number of TiVo users who rewound it and viewed it multiple times.


What did you think? What were the best Super Bowl ads this year?

Bowl Games Abound

Once the college football season is in the history books, bowl games begin. Throughout December and into January, college football teams compete for championship titles in match-ups across the country. Within the past few years, many companies have bought the rights to sponsor these bowl games, including retailers and food and beverage consumer packaged goods corporations.

One of the first bowl games of the season, the St. Petersburg Bowl presented by Beef 'O' Brady's, was scrutinized for its low attendance. The December 21 game at Tropicana Field attracted only 20,000 fans, the lowest attendance since its inception three years ago.

As the bowls continued, Florida International met Toledo on December 26 at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Until this year, the pizza giant wasn't the only one to host a bowl game; the PapaJohns.com Bowl lasted until 2010 when BBVA Compass took over sponsor duties.

With food and football going hand-in-hand, it's no surprise that restaurants support the college playoffs. From the Chick-fil-A Bowl to the Outback Bowl, the games provide a unique advertising opportunity for the eateries, which lend their names to the games steeped in athletic tradition.

Food manufacturers are also involved with post-season college football. Some of the sport's biggest games, the Fiesta Bowl and the BCS National Championship are both sponsored by Frito-Lay under its Tostitos brand.

Kraft Foods has taken the opportunity to promote a bowl game one step further, using the sponsorship to raise awareness of an issue with its Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. The only game with a corporate social responsibility angle, the company will donate a meal to a food bank for every ticket sold.

Finally, retailers are certainly not left out of the mix. This year, Champs Sports hosted its own Bowl on December 28 and AutoZone took on the Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve. Starting next season, the Meineke Car Care Bowl, held annually in North Carolina, will be renamed the Belk Bowl thanks to money from the Charlotte-based department store company.

Earlier this year, rumors flew that Reese's would take over FedEx's sponsorship of the Orange Bowl as Hershey made a bid to sponsor the game. Perhaps in the future, as this year's game was brought to fans by Discover.

How do you feel about companies sponsoring college bowl games: a creative use of advertising dollars or an over-the-top waste of money? Leave a message and share your thoughts!

Play Ball!

Tomorrow night, the World Series will begin. This year, the Texas Rangers take on the San Francisco Giants to battle it out in Major League Baseball's championship series. While baseball is associated with ballpark food like hot dogs, nachos, and Cracker Jacks, the game would not be possible without a home in which the teams can play ball. For that, many baseball franchises can thank food and beverage consumer packaged goods companies for sponsoring the sports fields and stadiums that bring us America's pastime.

It all started in 1926, when Wrigley became the first company to buy naming rights to a baseball stadium. Gum magnate William Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, named his team's stadium Wrigley Field. The trend caught on and continued.

The Colorado Rockies call Coors Field home. Since 1995 Coors Brewing Company in nearby Golden, Colorado, has owned the naming rights to the Denver stadium. The beer company is not alone, however, when it comes to naming baseball venues. Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owes its name to Miller Brewing Company. Miller's $40 million contract as the title sponsor for the home of the Milwaukee Brewers runs through 2020. Another beer company, Anheuser-Busch, is behind Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals play. The ballpark opened on April 4, 2006, and the brewer's naming rights deal, which will last through the 2025 season, helped to offset the stadium's original construction costs.

While beer and baseball go hand in hand, not too many fans would associate the sport with orange juice, but they should! Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, has been home to the Tampa Bay Rays since 1990. The domed stadium seats 36,973. Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, opened in 2000, and houses the Astros.

Retailers are into the naming act, too. Pet supplier PETCO owns the rights to PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres. Thanks to Target, the Minnesota Twins have their own venue and no longer have to share space with local college and pro football teams with the opening of Target Field this year in Minneapolis.

Food and beverage CPG companies aren't only involved in naming baseball stadiums. Since 2001, Heinz Field in Pittsburgh has been the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pitt Panthers. Within the football arena, the Coca-Cola Great Hall spans approximately 40,000 square feet and displays a collection of Steelers and Panthers memorabilia. Finally, hockey and basketball fans in Denver unite at the Pepsi Center for sporting events and concerts.

If you've attended a sporting event at one of these ballparks or sports venues, tell me about your experience! What other CPG companies or retailers would you like to see in lights as a stadium sponsor?

Sports: More Than Beer and Nachos

While football season is just heating up, baseball season is coming to an end. What do athletes do in their spare time when sports wind down or when they decide the time has come to retire? Many sports pros have dabbled in the food and beverage consumer packaged goods industry, manufacturing everything from wine to donuts.

Take, for example, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. After hanging up his skates, "The Great One" started his own winery with wife Janet in 2007, No. 99 Estates Winery. A portion of each wine sold benefits the Wayne Gretzky Foundation, dedicated to providing less fortunate youth with the opportunity to experience the sport of hockey. Hear all about Wayne's foray into vino on Wine Library TV.

Many football players have also taken the path into the wine business, including Drew Bledsoe and Mike Ditka, as have NASCAR drivers Mario Andretti and Jeff Gordon.

After Pro Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris left the game, he settled in Pittsburgh where he started Super Bakery in 1990. Harris' goal was to make junk foods more nutritious, and sold his goods, like donuts and pastries, to schools, hospitals, and airlines. In 2006, the football legend most known for "The Immaculate Reception," renamed his company RSuper Foods. Today, Harris' Super Donut and Super Bun products are sold publicly at Giant Eagle grocery stores in Pennsylvania. In the future, Harris hopes to expand the product line to include muffins, wraps, and other bread and pastry products.

Have you noticed other athletes lending their names to a food or beverage line on store shelves? Drop me a line and tell me more!