A-B, MasterCard and United Take a Ride For MLB's Opening Day 2000 in Japan

Brandweek, Feb 21, 2000 by Terry Lefton

MasterCard, Anheuser-Busch, Toys "R" Us, Mizuno and United Airlines will sponsor Major League Baseball's first overseas season-opener, with a series between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets slated for March 29-30 in Japan.

Anheuser-Busch will run an on-pack promotion and both its Bud brand and MasterCard will get stadium signage; United is in for some barter and cash and will leverage in flight. Title sponsor AM/PM, the 1,200-unit c-store chain, has signed the Cubs' Sammy Sosa to a seven-figure ad deal. Honda will present an MVP award at each game and heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu is using the series to revive an endorsement deal with the Mets' Mike Piazza.

Japan sporting goods chain, Xabio, adds a retail promo. Among the efforts by league licensees: New Era is on for series caps, Rawlings for balls, Majestic will do locker room T's to be sold in a special MLB store in a tent outside the Tokyo Dome. Fleer and Upper Deck, will give away trading cards.

While other U.S. sports leagues' overseas efforts are often loss leaders, the appeal of baseball in Japan produced a sellout within five hours of when tickets went on sale. The two-game series, the first regular season games held in Japan, will be the most profitable overseas venture yet by MLB, with sponsorship revenue alone in excess of a million.

"Japan is a statement that we are committed to international play because that is what's going to drive our business to the next level," said Paul Archey, MLB vp-international business operations.

In another departure from stateside games, AM/PM will get logo signage on batting helmets while insurer AIU will get its logo on player uniforms. Though AIU bought similar rights during two prior MLB tours of Japan, purists are likely to note that this is a first for a regular-season MLB game.

Could that practice proliferate here? "Absolutely not," said MLB commissioner Bud Selig. "Even though [ads on uniforms] are common everywhere outside the U.S., I am very aware of the history of our logos and how sacred they are to our fans. This is a one-time deal."