4/25 – US Soccer, MLS Add Drinking Partner

One of the world’s largest spirits companies has signed a far-reaching sponsorship deal to work alongside soccer in the U.S. The deal is Brown-Forman Corp.’s largest marketing investment in its tequila brands since it bought the Casa Herradura Tequila range of brands in 2007. The four-year agreement will see El Jimador Tequila become a sponsor of Major League Soccer, the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams and the annual U.S. tour of the Mexican national soccer team. The U.S. national team sponsorship will cover a period that includes the 2012 Olympic Games and 2014 FIFA World Cup. The agreement provides El Jimador with an onsite promotional presence at games, on-field advertising signs for more than 100 televised games each year, player appearances at promotional events and a line of co-branded merchandise.The deal allows Brown-Forman — whose brands also include Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort and Finlandia — to bring any of its tequila brands into the arrangement, though for now the focus will be on El Jimador, the top-selling tequila in Mexico, according to MarketWatch.