B-to-C Events

In the second year of its Summer 4Ever Road Trip Sunny Delight Beverages’ Sunny D brand has added a few new elements to the program. Most notably the brand has replaced last year’s brand-wrapped ice cream trucks with fully restored and customized 1960s-era Volkswagen buses. The buses are designed to evoke the nostalgia of 1964—the year that SunnyD was introduced to the market.
 
 “The [brand] really comes to life with the new vintage vehicles ” Jennifer Cottle brand manager for SunnyD told Buzz.
 

Sunoco is bringing together four of NASCAR’s top drivers—Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson—with Orange County Choppers (of Discovery Channel’s “American Chopper” fame) to design a custom motorcycle for each driver. Sunoco is the fuel category sponsor of both NASCAR and OCC. The drivers put their own personal touches on the design and each will be immortalized with his bike on an autograph trading card called a “hero card ” complete with a photo of the driver and his bike on the front and vital stats on the back.
 

Visa is taking a cinematic approach to its newest sponsorship. The company has partnered with the 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) the oldest and largest international timed filmmaking competition as sponsor of the 48HFP 2007 Tour and title sponsor of the “Life Takes” Invitational which will provide one amateur filmmaker with the opportunity to showcase his or her work in front of entertainment and advertising executives. The grand prize winner also will receive a Visa prepaid card worth $10 000 to help fund future projects.
 

Lucky Brand Jeans is touring the country this summer in a psychedelic bright orange and yellow 1949 vintage Flxible bus. The jeans brand is taking the interactive mobile tour called Denim Highway to music festivals and college campuses offering custom jeans fittings giveaways and tequila shots. After they try on the jeans visitors receive a size “prescription” that they can take to a Lucky store and purchase jeans at a discount.
 

Sharp Electronics kicked off its three-year deal as the HDTV category sponsor of Major League Baseball with a major on-site presence at the 2007 MLB All-Star Game held last week in San Francisco. The company featured MLB content on its AQUOS HD LCD TVs in three locations including a 40-foot-by-40-foot sports den (think fantasy living room for dudes) at DHL All-Star FanFest a 40-foot-by-50-foot tent in the Sponsor Zone and at three gaming stations and computer kiosks where consumers could enter the Sharp MLB Sweepstakes which launched at the event.