I caught the final Giro d’Italia broadcast on Versus today. Liggett and Sherwin tried their best to add some drama to the race for the pink jersey but there was really no chance of Alberto Contador losing time to Ricardo Ricco in a flat time trial. It was great to see SRAM going 1-2 overall!

Whenever I watch cycling on TV, I keep a running list of who’s advertising. A lot of the spots go to advertisers that make broader buys on Versus, but Cyclysm Sundays is clearly a target for a few brands. Hampton Hotels, whose USOC push also includes a sponsorship of USA Cycling, was a sponsor of the broadcast and had plenty of spots. Because grass is green, Scotts sponsored a “Green Jersey Update” covering the Giro’s KOM jersey. Specialized was the only Versus advertiser from the bike industry, with spots featuring Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini. I noticed that Garmin sponsored the Giro itself, with good signage around the time trial start house. Then there was Captain Morgan as a broadcast sponsor.

Cycling makes sense for the first four brands. Hampton and Scotts presumably like the demographics. Specialized and Garmin make applicable products. But Captain Morgan? I understand why they’d sponsor a contest to party at the Playboy Mansion on Halloween, but I’d love to hear the rationale for their interest in cycling. If anyone from Diageo is reading this, hit me up!

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 1st, 2008 at 8:38 pm and is filed under Advertising, Bike Racing, Bike industry.