It's not quite the same kinda global brand I'd associate with CitiBank Until recently, I'd never heard of Herbalife. Heck, I've now heard of them but still don't really have a clue what they sell. Maybe that's why they are forking out all this money so people like me will buy their product. I dunno. I think I would have preferred to wear CitiBank on my chest. However, the money is good, though not what had been rumored a few weeks ago. Bottom line, they sealed the deal.

Now, I guess I can't really have too much of a beef on the Herbalife deal. I mean, back in my youth, I'd have probably jumped at the "Herb O' Life" name in a StickyGreen/420/KGB kinda way. But I'm grown up now (well, unless you ask my wife) and that type of thing doesn't bring quite the same humor. Well, I was a Beavis and Butthead addict as well....but I'm probably admitting more than I should.

Actually, I really shouldn't complain too much about the name of sponsors on shirts. Back in the early Nineties, Ipswich had a local company named Fisons as their sponsor. Why not? They are based in Ipswich (well, before they were bought out) and produced a product which was used in the area. However, when you realize that Fisons was a chemical company who produced fertilizer....well, it really was an invitation to rival fans to comment on how "shit" we were.

But money is money and as I'm not paying the bills, I guess I'll just have to shut up and advertise a company I know nothing about.

Which leads me to 2 final comments. 1) Herbalife is spending a lot of money to get their name out yet I really don't know much about them (nor do I have the desire to) I must not be in their target demographic. 2) They sure have a ton of cash available in their marketing budget...there's got to be a decent markup on their product.

UPDATE: My buddy Dan Loney has now caught me up to speed with his piece(s) on Herbalife. I kinda wish I hadn't read them now.

Labels: Citibank, Herbalife, Ipswich Town, LA Galaxy

  ¶ 7:03 AM 0 Comments

  Been there, done that, got the shirt.... Yep, this post is about Beckham as well...sorta...

At the end of last season there was an announcement by MLS that teams could sell shirt sponsorships on their jerseys as long as it was worth at least $500,000 per year.

Well, I'm guessing that the addition of Beckham to the roster had a lot to do with this but it looks like CitiBank are getting it's checkbook out.

A more likely blockbuster announcement from MLS is the jersey sponsorship for David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy. Two sources have confirmed that the bidding is down to Citibank and Herbalife (and, interestingly, not Beckham sponsor adidas). The Citibank offer to have its name across the front of Galaxy shirt, the sources said, is a monster: five years, $49 million. A decision is expected any day.

Now, first of all, this is only a rumor but Mark Zeigler is one of the better soccer writers in this country and I consider him pretty reliable.

Second, remember all those editorials on both sides of the Atlantic saying how crazy AEG and the Galaxy were to pay Beckham that much money? Well, I've already posted a more realistic look at how the deal is worked. And if that is even close to being accurate, then it looks to me like LA are getting Beckham for nothing. Citibank will pay his salary and the rest is all endorsements. What an incredible deal for LA and MLS.

Of course, LA would have probably only got about $1 million/year if Beckham hadn't joined the team.

...European soccer giant Manchester United, which signed a four-year contract
with AIG to put the U.S. insurance company's name on its shirts for about $25
million.

Wow! LA have a better paying shirt deal than ManU? What is happening to this world?

UPDATE: According to Ives Galarcep, the Citibank/LAG deal is for 10 years. Not sure which is correct (if either is) but gotta post this version as well.

Labels: Adidas, Citibank, David Beckham, Herbalife, LA Galaxy, Manchester United, MLS

  ¶ 3:21 PM 0 Comments