Chris Paul led a basketball resurgence in New Orleans, and now Right Guard has signed him to a deal, hoping he can do the same for deodorant.
Right Guard is hoping that Chris Paul can help lead a comeback for the deodorant as he did for basketball in New Orleans.
The pact is likely the first of many forthcoming for Paul, the unquestionable star of a New Orleans team that one year ago seemed destined to leave the Katrina-ravaged city. Instead, he turned in one of the greatest statistical seasons ever for a point guard, leading the Hornets to the best record in the National Basketball Association’s hotly contested Southwest Division. He ultimately finished second in the league’s Most Valuable Player voting, trailing only Kobe Bryant.
The turnaround in New Orleans was unquestionably the feel-good story of the NBA season, and marketers like Right Guard are eager to bask in its glow. “Absolutely, we’re hoping we can have a comeback the same way Chris and the Hornets rejuvenated the basketball community in New Orleans,” said Toby Gubitz, Right Guard’s senior brand manager.
Gubitz said he hoped the relationship with Paul, 23, and the brand’s new status as the NBA’s official deodorant would help it rebuild “locker room credibility” among younger men, something he said has likely slipped in recent years as an ownership change has scaled back the brand’s advertising and sponsorships.
Right Guard spent only $6.9 million in measured media last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, down from $22.4 million the year before.
In 2005, the brand spent $29.2 million, but was sold by parent Gillette Corp. a year later to Dial Corp. in a divestiture linked to Gillette’s merger with Procter & Gamble.
The brand — which did some memorable NBA-themed ads during the ’90s starring Scottie Pippen and Charles Barkley — remains the No. 2 deodorant behind Old Spice. The NBA partnership calls for the league’s logo to be placed on every package of Right Guard, a tactic also employed by NBA sponsors Sprite, Gatorade and Wrigley in recent years.
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