• Crain's Chicago Business, Friday, July 13, 2007 10 AM

The National Basketball Association has inked a deal with Wrigley that will make five of the Chicago candy company's brands its "Official Chewing Gums." Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed, but the brands involved are Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Winterfresh, Doublemint and Spearmint Chibe.

"We saw a great opportunity to leverage the power of the Wrigley and NBA brands to reach our consumers," says Paul Chibe, Wrigley's vice-president of U.S. marketing, who adds the target is young adults. Wrigley will use new marketing and advertising once plans are finalized later this year.

One thing that may happen is Wrigley will use NBA players as endorsers, notes Mark Tatum, the NBA's senior vice-president of marketing partnerships. It is "going to be a significant and comprehensive relationship," he says. "Wrigley is going to take advantage of all the various assets we have with marketing." Although it has 19 marketing partners, the NBA had yet to have an official gum sponsor.

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