Nov 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Pepsi Cola Co. has decided not renew its multi-year deal as the exclusive soft drink sponsor for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The deal expires at the end of the year.

Pepsi has been a sponsor since about 1994, but following an annual review of its sports marketing budget, the company decided its dollars would be best allocated to sports properties that have season-long impact that can drive sales at retail, says Dave DeCecco, a spokesperson for Purchase, NY-based Pepsi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The tennis championships are held each year in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Pepsi also has sponsorship deals with the National Football League and Jeff Gordon, a popular NASCAR driver.

“It was a really tough decision; we really enjoyed working with the people at the USTA [United States Tennis Association],” DeCecco says. “But we're in a challenging economic environment. We're counting every dollar.”

McDonald's Corp. is sponsoring skateboarder Tony Hawk as part of its first global marketing campaign, themed “I'm lovin' it.”

Big Mac gets a presence at Hawk's 29-city Boom Boom Huck Jam tour that began Oct. 2 and wraps up Nov. 16. The sponsorship, handled in-house, positions Hawk as “the original Mighty Kid” to court teens and tweens, the target audience for Mighty Kids Meals. They're also the key audience for “I'm lovin' it” ads that star singer Justin Timberlake. Those ads are airing globally — the first time for Big Mac to use the same ads worldwide. Leo Burnett USA, Chicago, handles.

McD runs a video loop at Boom Boom Huck Jam events, including a 30-second spot showcasing Huck as an overgrown kid. (On-site signage includes Mighty Kids Meal banners.)

McD co-ops in each tour market use radio station tie-ins and p.r. events to give away 20 show tickets and 10 backstage passes. Radio spots split a 20-second sponsorship message with a 10-second tag featuring Hawk's voice.

Hawk is likely to appear in future promos, but McDonald's won't discuss plans yet. Meanwhile, the chain supports the U.S. launch of “I'm lovin' it” with P-O-P including themed kiosks in restaurants via Frankel, Chicago.

Elite Sampling and Promotion, Kinnelon, NJ, has entered into an agreement with SpaWish, a spa gift certificate company, to distribute product samples to consumers of day spas and salons.

Elite Sampling will have exclusive access to SpaWish's network of nearly 1,000 spas and salons to offer its samples and promotional items.

Marketers participating in the program can distribute solo samples or develop corporate multi-branded programs. As many as 500,000 to 600,000 samples could be delivered each month. Warner Bros. Consumer Products has licensed Baby Looney Tunes characters to beverage marketer IN ZONE Brands, Inc. to extend IN ZONE's TummyTickler juice line, which launched nationally early this year.

New bottle toppers feature Baby Bugs, Baby Daffy and Baby Lola Bunny. Atlanta-based IN ZONE also sells Looney Tunes Belly Washers juice for older kids. “Our partnership with IN ZONE Brands has been a successful one, for all of our properties, across the board,” says Dave Hedrick, Warner Bros. VP-promotional marketing and branded foods. “We know that this new line will give toddlers a chance to see our characters come to life in a colorful and dynamic way.”

Separately, IN ZONE licensed Dragon Tales characters from Sesame Workshop, New York City, for TummyTicklers with bottle toppers shaped like the PBS show's main characters.

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