• Brandweek, Thursday, June 8, 2006 11:45 AM

Just by the nature of its name, Nestlé USA's famous Baby Ruth candy bar has long been associated with America's favorite pastime. But now the relationship is official. This week the candy marketer signed a three-year deal that makes Baby Ruth the official candy bar of Major League Baseball. For Nestle, the deal includes MLB promotions, in-game virtual signage and advertising commitments for baseball telecasts and other league-produced programming. In addition, Baby Ruth will be the title sponsor of a new attraction at the All-Star Fan Fest in Pittsburgh July 7-11, and packaging graphics will flag Baby Ruth as the "Official Candy Bar of Major League Baseball" throughout the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Ironically, there is some dispute as to whether the candy bar was actually named after the famous New York Yankee slugger. The official story by its creator, the Curtiss Candy Co. of Chicago, claims that the candy bar was named after the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.

Read the whole story at Brandweek »