Mexican Soccer Stars Promote Reebok in U.S.

NEW YORK Following an unexpected U.S. rush on Reebok-branded team jerseys in August, the sports apparel maker today breaks an outdoor campaign featuring the Mexican soccer team that sparked across-the-border interest.

In early August, Reebok launched the official Reebok-Chivas game jersey in Mexico, where the championship-winning team’s uniform tops proved predictably popular, said Jorge A. Dionne, Reebok’s director of Latin American marketing.

“What surprised us however was the U.S. reaction to the jersey launch in Mexico,” Dionne added. “All of a sudden, the U.S. retailers and consumers were calling, wanting to know how they could get the jerseys in the U.S.”

As a result, Reebok will plaster U.S. cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston with 450 posters and billboards featuring the team’s stars. Five ads created by the Arnell Group in New York are tagged, “La Nueva Piel de las Chivas,” referring to the team’s Reebok jerseys as the “New Skin of Chivas.” One print ad will run in the soccer magazine 90:00.

“The Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing everyday and 60 percent of Hispanics are Mexican,” Dionne said. “As the Chivas are a 100 percent Mexican team, launching our soccer campaign with this team was a natural fit.”

Chivas has won 10 league professional titles and 13 amateur titles. The team, which entered into a strategic partnership with Reebok in July, wears Reebok warm-up and game apparel on the field. In August, Reebok opened a Chivas flagship store in Guadalajara, Mexico.