Hass Avocado Board Launches Cross-Media Ad Campaign Featuring Football Great John Lynch

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hass Avocado Board has launched a major ad campaign designed to spotlight avocados as the perfect food for college football fans.  At the center of the campaign is football star John Lynch, who made a name for himself at Stanford and went on to become a nine-time pro-bowler and Super Bowl champion.  The endorsement deal was secured in just one week, a sharp departure from prevailing assumptions about the difficulty and complexity of landing talent.

Created by FOX Sports in partnership with Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT), the campaign includes a 30-second television spot as well as online placements. It will run through December 2010.

"We are excited to partner with FOX Sports Network to promote Hass Avocados as a key ingredient for college football parties and tailgates," said Jose Luis Obregon, Director of Hass Avocado Board. "John Lynch helps us drive the message that even a celebrity football player can't get into the party without Hass Avocados."

Using BAT's Endorsement Platform, FOX Sports was able to select the best celebrity for the campaign based on target demographics and deep information about consumer affinity, and secure the deal with John Lynch – all in just one week.

"FOX Sports was excited at the challenge of creating a compelling campaign for Hass Avocados around FSN and the Big Ten Networks' college football telecasts," said Chris Hannan, SVP Marketing FOX Regional Sports Networks. "We turned to BAT to secure an athlete's participation in the campaign, and John Lynch has proven to be the ideal spokesman for the Hass Avocado campaign.  Lynch had a distinguished career on the field and has a bright future ahead of him on television both in broadcasting and advertising."

BAT came to market 18 months ago with a vision for opening up the world of endorsement marketing to many more advertisers, and many more celebrities. The Hass campaign is the most recent in a string of successes powering innovative cross-media endorsement campaigns for powerhouse advertisers such as AT&T, Ford, Comcast, Intuit, and Samsung. More than 3,600 celebrities have signed on to BAT's Endorsement Platform, including marquee active and retired players in nearly every sport, such as: Drew Brees (NFL), Jorge Posada (MLB), Rajon Rondo (NBA), Brooks Robinson (MLB – Hall of Fame), Walt Frazier (NBA – Hall of Fame), and Lennox Lewis (Boxing), as well as Olympic athletes.

"Football season is here – and advertisers that tap in to the passion and loyalty that consumers feel for their favorite stars are poised to win fans of their own," said Ryan Steelberg, President and CEO of BAT.  "Endorsements are one of the most effective and authentic ways to align with football – and we're making it fast, cost-efficient, and easy to do deals."

About the Hass Avocado Board

The Hass Avocado Board (HAB) was established in 2002, after approval by producers and importers of Hass Avocados in a national referendum. A 12-member board administers the program under USDA supervision. Nearly 20,000 producers and 100 importers – from California, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic – are involved in HAB, which covers fresh domestic and imported Hass Avocados sold in the U.S. market.

About Brand Affinity Technologies, Inc. (BAT)

Founded in 2007, BAT (http://brandaffinity.net) unlocks the marketing power of celebrity through research, endorsements, and interactive experiences. BAT's research engine provides daily analysis of more than 40,000 celebrities and athletes. Advertisers use this analysis on BAT's Endorsement Platform to identify, license, and activate the most effective talent for their campaigns. Currently available endorsement talent includes more than 3,600 celebrities and sports superstars. BAT also engages consumers directly through netBAT (www.netbat.com), which transforms celebrity content into interactive experiences on leading websites. Learn more about BAT in Fortune Magazine at www.fortune.com/bat. Connect with BAT on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrandAffinityTech and Twitter:@BATimpact.

About FOX Sports Network (FSN)

FSN is the nation's leading provider of local sports. Through its 19 owned-and-operated regional networks, FSN serves as the TV home to more than half of all MLB, NHL, and NBA teams. FSN's nationwide roster of regional sports networks includes FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports Detroit, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Houston, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports Ohio, FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Tennessee, FOX Sports West, FOX Sports Wisconsin, PRIME Ticket, SportSouth, and Sun Sports. FSN produces more than 5,000 live local events each year, including more than 3,200 in high definition, making FSN the most prolific producers of HD Sports programming in the country. In addition to its thousands of home team games and a wide variety of locally produced sports programs, FSN televises national sports events and programs, including Pac-10 and ACC basketball and Pac-10 and Big 12 football.

SOURCE Brand Affinity Technologies