Nissan, Hanes Join ESPN College Football Tour
Nissan and Hanes are hitting the road as co-sponsors of the ESPN Gridiron Blowout Tour, a college campus tailgate excursion expected to draw 1 million fans.
The 10-city tour with ESPN the Magazine as title sponsor will visit locales for major college match-ups starting with the University of Alabama for Alabama vs. Georgia held last weekend. The tour concludes in College Station, Texas on Nov. 23 with Texas vs. Texas A&M.
Hanes will be participating in the tour for the first time. It will bring along the Hanes ComfortZone at the pre-game parties—manned by its team of female brand ambassadors known as the Comfort Force—who will lure men into changing booths to exchange their underwear for a new pair of Hanes ComfortSoft boxers.
Nissan, on the tour for the second year, will present the Nissan Lounge at each tailgating stop, where fans will be able to sit on comfortable couches and watch the games on flat-screen TVs. They’ll also be able to register for a sweepstakes contest to win a trip for two to the annual Heisman Trophy awards ceremony in New York City.
Along with its lounge, Nissan will have its Nissan Titan pick-up and the new Nissan Rogue crossover SUV on display at the tailgate events.
Nissan is sole presenting sponsor of the Heisman Trophy, awarded to college football’s outstanding player of the year. Its extended relationship with ESPN includes custom-produced stories about the Heisman to air on the national cable sports network.
“For us, college football is an important area with passionate fans,” said Nissan spokeswoman Kathryn Fields. “We like to engage them in ways that are meaningful to them.”
