The Bears And Their RC
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Apr 17, 2012 2:30PM
Chalk this up as one of the more curious sponsorship deals we've seen in recent memory. The Chicago Bears and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group have signed a seven-year deal that would make Dr. Pepper, 7-Up and RC Cola, among other brands, as the primary soft drinks to be served at Bears games.
You're reading that correctly: Royal Crown Cola—a soda many pizzerias in Chicago can't give away with the purchase of a large pie—is now one of the official soft drinks of the Monsters of the Midway.
The deal is expected to earn the Bears $3 million annually and, according to Crain's Chicago Business, will make Dr Pepper one of the team's nine top-tier "Hall of Fame" corporate sponsors along with (we imagine) Eagle Insurance and Bert Weinman Ford. A "Dr. Pepper Patio" will open this season in Soldier Field's south stands that will feature live music, new food and beverage options and a lounge area, for Bears fans craving a rum and Diet Snapple. Bears vice president of sales and marketing Chris Hibbs said the team was "very attracted to (Dr. Pepper's) marketing acumen." (If not the money.)
"They really wanted this partnership, and they're going to activate around it. They're going to integrate the Bears with everything they do," said Mr. Hibbs. "You don't see every sports marketer doing it that way."
Other soft drink brands in the Dr. Pepper portfolio include A&W Root Beer, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Deja Blue bottled water and Mott's apple juice. Before you think we're ragging unnecessarily we'll disclose we personally love the stuff and often buy a liter with our pizza. It is the soft drink people will go out of their way for.