Ahhh the last time we’ll be able to make a baseball ED joke and post a picture of Raffy Palmeiro. Viagra is ending its five-year-old endorsement deal with Major League Baseball. The overwhelming reason is that changes in pharmacy guidelines meant that drug companies couldn’t advertise in prime-time anymore and that took away most of the value of the deal. However, the leagues have also been growing increasinly wary of advertising sexual dysfunction drugs in a family friendly atmosphere.
Sports properties saw dollar signs, and there was a land rush,” said Michael Neuman, CEO and founder of Amplify Sports and Entertainment, New York, who had worked on marketing programs for a variety of pharmaceutical brands from Pfizer, Amgen and GlaxoSmithKline. “But when you had ads talking about four-hour erections during NFL games, people from ownership on down started questioning the association.
Links:
[Sports Business Journal]: (Subscription) ED era wanes as Viagra exits MLB deal
