They’re history: Gillette exits role as MLB’s oldest sponsor

Pr octer & Gamble ’s Gillette brand, Major League Baseball’s oldest and most venerable corporate sponsor, has left the fold.

MLB has touted Gillette as its longest-tenured sponsor, with baseball ties that date back more than 100 years. We were never quite sure of the accuracy of that since MLB league sponsorships under their current definition of intellectual property rights plus marketing and media assets didn’t exist until 1968, the year MLB filed a trademark for its red, white and blue silhouetted-batter logo.

Still, Gillette, which pioneered the use of disposable blades around the beginning of the 20th century, has a baseball legacy that is both lengthy and impressive, dating back to the use of Honus Wagner as an endorser in 1910. In the 1940s, Gillette was the sole sponsor for radio broadcasts of the World Series — roughly the equivalent of a sponsor buying out the Super Bowl today in terms of reach across the domestic sports universe.

The new presence this season of Barbasol as an MLB sponsor in the shaving-cream category gave an indication that Gillette’s days as an MLB sponsor had gone the way of Wagner.

A written statement from Gillette acknowledged that its time as an official league sponsor has ended but noted that “sports will continue to play an important role in our brand well into the future. While we’ve made the decision to not have an official sponsorship with MLB for the 2018 season, we will continue to partner with them in areas that we have previously, such as media and event activations, as it makes sense for our business.”

Gillette’s departure leaves Anheuser-Busch as MLB’s longest-tenured corporate sponsor. However, we might even take some issue with that claim since a 2010 lawsuit had to be settled before A-B could continue as an MLB commercial patron.

HIGH-CAL DIET: Orioles hall of famer Cal Ripken Jr. continues to maintain a high profile in Baltimore. His latest deal is an endorsement with the new LifeBridge Health Sports Medicine Institute , which will specialize in orthopedics. Following a March shoot in Baltimore, Ripken will be used in print, digital, out-of-home and possibly TV advertisements debuting later this month.

It’s Ripken’s first health-care deal and comes just after a March hookup with quick-service restaurant Roy Rogers . Ripken has longstanding deals with PNC Bank and Under Armour .

Ripken last year switched marketing agencies from CAA to Rubicon Talent , where he is represented by Peter Raskin and Jonathan Salant .

BATTER UP: With the MLB season just underway, SportsNet New York President Steve Raab says ad sales are up high single digits from a year ago.

“We look to have around 70 to 75 percent of our baseball budget committed by now and we’re at the high end of that, which tells you that interest in baseball in New York is high, even after the team underperformed last year,” Raab said of the Mets’ regional sports network.

New SNY sponsors include Jim Beam , while ongoing Mets/SNY sponsors Citi and Verizon have new enhancements to wrap around newly branded sections at the ballpark: the Citi Pavilion and the Verizon Up premium-seating area, where sweepstakes winners get to sit.

Chief Revenue Officer Brian Erdlen said new ad units include a six-second split-screen ad, a la Fox/NFL broadcasts. Also in the works is a 12-episode dating reality show, sponsored by Bowlmor Lanes , in which the dates would take place at Citi Field and a Bowlmor facility, with heavy social media integration to endorse or eliminate contestants.

COMINGS & GOINGS: Greg Sim , former MLB vice president of consumer products, has resurfaced as senior director at Stamford, Conn.-headquartered nouveau apparel brand Vineyard Vines . Sim had been with MLB more than 20 years prior to layoffs in January. … Former Lids and New Era marketer John DeWaal joins media trade agency Anchor Media Services , New City, N.Y., as senior vice president, brand marketing. He will be based in Indianapolis. … Two sports-industry veterans have joined executive search firms. GlideSlope co-founder Eric Guthoff is establishing a new sports practice within Grace Blue and comes in as a partner. Guthoff left GlideSlope shortly after it was acquired by CSM Sport & Entertainment in 2017. Meanwhile, former NHL and AFL executive Glenn Horine joins search firm SRiCheyenne as a partner. Horine will continue at Iona College as director of the school’s center for sports, entertainment and media business but will forsake teaching after more than 10 years to focus on student career development and fundraising.

Terry Lefton can be reached at tlefton@sportsbusinessjournal.com .