THE PHILIPPINES, NOVEMBER 2011: Boxing’s pound-for-pound king and the Philippines’ Pambansang Kamao (National Fist) Manny Pacquiao recently inked a deal with Hennessy, the internationally famous cognac brand carried by the LVMH Moet portfolio.
Pacquiao, who is also the representative of the lone district of Sarangani in the Philippine Congress, has previously endorsed other multinational brands such as Nike and Hewlett-Packard (HP), which made Pacquiao the brand ambassador for its TouchPad tablet PC. The eight-division champion also endorses Texas-based State Street Produce, a distributor of fresh produce sourced in the United States and overseas.
The deal with HP is said to have fueled the boxing superstar’s tier-one brand alignment. “That really changed the landscape. Large brands now feel comfortable with him. They love what that (HP) campaign did and now they want him,” said Lucia McKelvey, Pacquiao’s deal agent at Top Rank.
Mike Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, said that a shoot with Hennessy is already in the works and that a few more endorsements will follow soon – a testament to Pacquiao’s charisma and popularity that goes across nations and cultures.
Koncz admitted he was unsure if they should push through with the deal, but he and McKelvey finally decided that the Hennessy project would be their birthday present for the pound-for-pound king. Pacquiao turns 33 on December 17.
The Hennessy deal is reported to be valued at least $1M, but the final amount is yet to be revealed. Pacquiao is set to appear in a series of print and TV ads for the premier cognac brand.
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