Nicorette, NASCAR sign sponsorship deal
Thu Jan 27, 7:50 AM ET
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
NASCAR (news - web sites), a sport historically linked with cigarettes and chewing tobacco, has signed on what might seem a most unlikely sponsor: Nicorette.
The stop-smoking product is the first to sign on with the car racing circuit.
The Nicorette deal comes just a year after Winston stepped down as title sponsor of NASCAR's championship series - after 33 years - and was replaced by cell phone company Nextel. The new NASCAR season is set to begin with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.
Why NASCAR? Where there's smoke, Nicorette smells sponsorship fire.
NASCAR fans are 28% more likely to smoke than other adults, reports Simmons Market Research. They smoke 18% more cigarettes than other adults and are more likely to smoke than NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB fans, Simmons says.
Nicorette believes that many NASCAR fans would like help quitting.
"We understand that tobacco products created this arena - but the game has changed," says Steve Kapur, senior manager of promotional activities at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, maker of Nicorette gum, NicoDerm patches and Commit lozenges, which will jointly sponsor NASCAR. "This is a great audience for us."
Nicorette will be both a three-year sponsor of NASCAR and an associate sponsor of the Target Chip Ganassi Racing Team - led by driver Casey Mears. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but are believed to exceed $3 million annually.
NASCAR now has no tobacco sponsors at the national level. While there is no ban on them, given the advertising limits set by the terms of the tobacco settlement with the government, a new one would be "highly unlikely," NASCAR spokesman Andrew Giangola says.
One cigarette maker, Victory Brands, is sponsoring a NASCAR team this season: ppc Racing, led by driver John Andretti.
But the new image NASCAR is trying to build won't be an easy sell, experts say.
"If NASCAR could enable a generation of smokers, maybe now it can enable a generation of non-smokers," says Paul Swangard, University of Oregon sports marketing professor.
One anti-smoking activist is angry.
"NASCAR's like a company that's been polluting the ground water for 20 years, and now they're selling water filters," says John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health (news - web sites). "Most people don't think of wellness and NASCAR in the same breath."
NASCAR would like them to.
It's negotiating for a fitness sponsor. And to broaden its appeal to more upscale fans, it went right to the wallet last month and signed a new sponsor: Jackson Hewitt, the tax preparation specialist
Thu Jan 27, 7:50 AM ET
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY
NASCAR (news - web sites), a sport historically linked with cigarettes and chewing tobacco, has signed on what might seem a most unlikely sponsor: Nicorette.
The stop-smoking product is the first to sign on with the car racing circuit.
The Nicorette deal comes just a year after Winston stepped down as title sponsor of NASCAR's championship series - after 33 years - and was replaced by cell phone company Nextel. The new NASCAR season is set to begin with the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.
Why NASCAR? Where there's smoke, Nicorette smells sponsorship fire.
NASCAR fans are 28% more likely to smoke than other adults, reports Simmons Market Research. They smoke 18% more cigarettes than other adults and are more likely to smoke than NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB fans, Simmons says.
Nicorette believes that many NASCAR fans would like help quitting.
"We understand that tobacco products created this arena - but the game has changed," says Steve Kapur, senior manager of promotional activities at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, maker of Nicorette gum, NicoDerm patches and Commit lozenges, which will jointly sponsor NASCAR. "This is a great audience for us."
Nicorette will be both a three-year sponsor of NASCAR and an associate sponsor of the Target Chip Ganassi Racing Team - led by driver Casey Mears. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but are believed to exceed $3 million annually.
NASCAR now has no tobacco sponsors at the national level. While there is no ban on them, given the advertising limits set by the terms of the tobacco settlement with the government, a new one would be "highly unlikely," NASCAR spokesman Andrew Giangola says.
One cigarette maker, Victory Brands, is sponsoring a NASCAR team this season: ppc Racing, led by driver John Andretti.
But the new image NASCAR is trying to build won't be an easy sell, experts say.
"If NASCAR could enable a generation of smokers, maybe now it can enable a generation of non-smokers," says Paul Swangard, University of Oregon sports marketing professor.
One anti-smoking activist is angry.
"NASCAR's like a company that's been polluting the ground water for 20 years, and now they're selling water filters," says John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health (news - web sites). "Most people don't think of wellness and NASCAR in the same breath."
NASCAR would like them to.
It's negotiating for a fitness sponsor. And to broaden its appeal to more upscale fans, it went right to the wallet last month and signed a new sponsor: Jackson Hewitt, the tax preparation specialist
