In the UEFA Champions League Final of 1999, Manchester United overcame Bayern Munich, 2-1, in a thrilling come from behind win. Within the first 5 minutes of the game, Bayern Munich had scored, and looked to be holding the trophy as European champions. However, two stoppage time goals (additional time after 90 minutes) from United subs Teddy Sherringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saw United make one of the most incredible comebacks in soccer. The game was heralded as the most dramatic final of all time, and Bayern has been looking for revenge ever since…and now they’ve almost got it. Last night, United went to Munich to play Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals and looked like they were going to win it after Wayne Rooney put them in front after only 64 seconds of gameplay. However, Bayern remained strong and eventually found the net to equalize the game in the second half. Then, with the game all but over and in the final seconds of stoppage time, Bayern striker Olic snatched an out of nowhere goal to put Munich up 2-1. Talk about getting the perfect revenge, even though there is still one more leg to play at Old Trafford in Manchester. I bet Sir Alex Ferguson is wishing that the ref’s custom watch had run faster so that he could have escaped with a draw. However, Olic had an opportunity and buried the promotional ball in the back of the net!

Posted: March 31st, 2010 under General.
Comments: 1

Rafael Nadal was able to pull out a victory over David Nalbandian after going down a set in the third round of the Ericsson Open in Miami. The fourth-ranked player in the world, Nadal, won the next two sets to send him through to the next round, with the final score being, 6-7 (8-10), 6-2, 6-2. Nalbandian put up a great effort seeing that he only recently returned after recovering from hip surgery, however he was no match for the Spaniard, who is looking to reclaim the title of being the number 1 seed. Watching this match reminded me that, with spring arriving, it’s now time to grab my logoed tennis balls and hit the courts. I, however, will need to meditate before I play as I am extremely prone to John McEnroe syndrome (temper tantrums). Maybe a custom tennis stress ball would help me deal with that…Either way, my promotional tennis bag is packed and I’m ready to start serving up some victories!

Posted: March 29th, 2010 under General.
Comments: none

The Major League Baseball season will kick off this April 4^th with a bang as the New York Yankees travel to Boston to battle the Red Sox (Seattle is also play San Francisco…but that’s not really important). Everyone always tunes in to this clash of the titans and I, for one, can’t wait to see the Yankees crush those wannabe’s (yeah, I’m biased). So get ready to start wearing your favorite logoed baseball hats, unless you’re a Red Sox fan because you’ll be needing your custom sports stress ball to help you deal with how much your team stinks!

Posted: March 26th, 2010 under General.
Comments: none

In a battle for New York bragging rights, the Islanders took on the Rangers last night at the Garden and were crushed by a score of 5 – 0. In a game where the Rangers should have probably scored about 9 or 10 goals, the Islanders looked like a pee-wee hockey team, showing no rhythm and a lack of focus. If the Rangers emulate the incredibly fast pace and precision passing they displayed in last night’s when they take on the New Jersey Devils tonight, they’ll have a great chance at winning. And with the playoffs around the corner, I advise you to grab your favorite promotional hockey gear and get out there to support your team!

Posted: March 25th, 2010 under General.
Comments: 1

Formula 1′s kick-off race in Bahrain saw Ferrari Team rider Fernando Alonso get a lucky win over Team Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. The two-time world champion Alonso was able to pull past the young Vettel when Vettel’s car had an engine malfunction and began sparking. His fellow Ferrari team-mate, Fabio Massa, was also able to pull past Vettel, who would later finish in fourth behind McLaren rider Lewis Hamilton. Vettel looked to have a comfortable win wrapping up for him, however his car problems turned this race into quite an interesting finish. However, this is exactly what makes Formula 1 so exciting. It’s not only about the ability of the driver to win, but the custom computer technology that is worked on behind the scenes as well. While Alonso is celebrating his great start to the season, Vettel will most certainly be making the most use of his custom stress ball as he ponders what went wrong.

Posted: March 23rd, 2010 under General.
Comments: none

Well, it’s finally gotten to the really interesting point…that’s right March Madness has reached the round of 16. Whether you love the Orangemen or are a diehard Blue Devils fan, this is one of the most exciting times in America’s sporting calendar, so why not show your support for the teams you love! A logoed stress ball will be extremely helpful during those nervous moments in a game, or you can grab a promotional noise-maker and pretend to be a distraction to a rival player when he’s shooting free throws. Either way, it’s time to get your game face on and get ready for once exciting ride!

Posted: March 22nd, 2010 under General.
Comments: none

Heineken knows how to do promotions. Period. In what was one of the best forms of guerilla marketing I’ve seen, Heineken (who sponsors the UEFA Champions League) asked professors, bosses and girlfriends to force men to go to a musical concert on the night that Real Madrid played AC Milan (two European powerhouses…think Patriots vs. Colts). Filming the entire process, the concert started a little before the game in which, on a video screen that would accompany the performance, it was made apparent that the whole concert was a ruse. After some pretty good laughs (I really suggest you watch this video), Heineken revealed itself as the culprit behind the prank and then tuned into the game. They were also kind enough to hand out some of their custom barware glasses filled with its delicious beer. The aftermath of this happening (they did it in multiple regions around Madrid and Milan) broke news headlines throughout Europe and when Heineken posted this video it received millions of hits, making this a great success. So the next time you complain about having to listen to the Champions League theme song on repeat because of the Heineken commercials; think about what they did here.

Posted: March 18th, 2010 under General.
Comments: none

Check out this cool guerilla marketing campaign put together by the Performa Skateboard company. Performa had a bunch of custom stickers made that could be slapped on any street obstacle that skateboarders might ride on. The stickers listed the level of difficulty (from Easy to Insane) and included the company’s name and logo. I’m sure these promotional stickers put a smile on a lot of boarders faces and boosted the street rep of the company.

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Skateboarding.
Comments: 1