If You're A Fan Of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, This Is Your Airline

Air New Zealand, an official marketing partner of Warner Bros.' The Hobbit has launched this clever Hobbit-inspired safety video aboard its flights to and from the country where the film was shot. The oft-ignored safety video ensures that at least Peter Jackson fans will be watching when Jackson himself makes a cameo appearance. The video also features a call to action that sends travelers to ...

Motorola Becomes Belieber

Motorola will be the official presenting sponsor of Justin Bieber's "Believe" tour. The deal was announced today along with the launch of a dedicated website for the sponsorship, called RowMLive.com. "We make phones that become a part of your life," said Gary Briggs, senior vice president, Marketing, Motorola Mobility. "Whether it's snapping a once-in-a-lifetime photo from a Justin Bieber c...

UFC Adds Official Ticket Resale Partner

The UFC is partnering with Ticketmaster to create an official ticket resale marketplace for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Fans will have the ability to buy and sell tickets to UFC live events via a secure resale platform powered by Ticketmaster technology. The deal, announced yesterday, follows in the model of other recent Ticketmaster partnerships in the secondary ticket space with the ...

GM CEO: 'We Didn't Sponsor Manchester United For Europe'

As expected, GM's Manchester United deal was a hot topic on the company's quarterly conference call yesterday. Analysts, looking for clarification on how the Chevy brand intends to use the $559 million sponsorship deal in a relatively mature auto market like Europe, peppered execs with questions. Finally, GM Chairman and CEO Daniel Akerson came out and took commentators to task, saying that the...

Here's A Guy That Wants To Sell His Last Name To A Sponsor

You may be asking yourself what kind of guy would be willing to put his own surname up for sponsorship? Jason Sadler would be that guy. Having previous started a website called iwearyourshirt.com, he's taking it to the next level in 2013. This time, Sadler's selling his last name to the highest bidding sponsor. Before you laugh, Jason _________'s sponsor will actually be getting some serious bu...

Ad Agency Lets 10-Year-Olds Try Their Hand At Client Work

If you've ever thought to yourself that a 10-year-old could come up with better creative than your ad agency, you may be right. Canadian ad shop, Grip Limited, in celebration of its 10th anniversary recently decided to let 10-year-olds take over on client work. Here's what happened.... via AdWeek #humortag

Sandy Puts Marathon Partners In Tough Position

Update, 5:10 EST: The ING NYC Marathon has been cancelled. Press conference coming soon. Despite much debate, the ING New York City Marathon will go forth as planned this weekend in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. With this, even the most basic of marathon preparations can turn into a New York Post story, leaving partners, who have invested millions of dollars and months of time planning, ...

A Smart Sponsorship In Sandy's Aftermath

When Gawker went down during the middle of Hurricane Sandy, State Farm sponsored its make-shift replacement on Tumblr. In exchange for helping get the site back up and running, the insurance giant prominently added the tag line "Backup Site Covered By State Farm" alongside information on how to file an insurance claim from the storm. The deal was quickly assembled by OMD Chicago and the Gawker...

Oakley Launches GPS-Enabled Ski Goggles

Nike isn't the only sports apparel company using information technology to transform its business. Want to check your text messages or locate your friends on the slopes this winter? Oakley may have the answer. The company's brand new AIRWAVE goggles offer GPS, Bluetooth and a host of onboard sensors to give skiers instant access to information as they jet down the slopes. Check it out... ...

Sponsor Sues Over Mismanagement of Armstrong Scandal

Swiss-based performance sportswear company, SKINS Compression, has sued the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for $2 million, seeking damages related to alleged mismanagement and poor handling of the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. SKINS has pledged to re-invest any funds received from its action to support the future of clean cycling and restore credibility in the sport. SKINS, which has ...