Alley-Cats Scramble bike courier competition

Marketing Magazine, May 5, 1998, Vol 103

Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. got the best exposure ever for its Dunhill cigarette brand as this year's title sponsor of The Alley-Cats Scramble, an annual bike courier competition in Toronto. It's the only sponsorship vehicle for the Dunhill brand, which has sponsored the event for two years. But that may change as tobacco sponsorship restrictions kick in this October.

The Scramble, held April 24-25 in Toronto, attracts a youthful crowd who are attracted to the edgy, bike courier culture. The two-day event consisted of races and tests of skill among 180 international bike couriers, as well as a performance by the garage band Junkhouse. The event drew 4,000 people this year, triple the number attending last year's event. The event was supported by $200,000 in ads in the Toronto Star and Toronto-based alternative weeklies Now and eye. "We had heard about the Alley-Cats people, and they were looking to take the existing event to the next level," says Dunhill brand manager Roger Nault.

For Dunhill, it's a chance to "be a part of a community," says Jim Feeney, who handles the Dunhill account at Saatchi & Saatchi, Toronto. That desire to get closer to this "community" -- smokers age 20-plus -- raises the hackles of anti-tobacco activists.

Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, says Dunhill has no right sponsoring a "youthful, active event." He hopes the restrictions the Tobacco Act will place on tobacco sponsorships will force Rothmans out of the Scramble. The Tobacco Act, which takes effect October 1, will limit promotional materials for events to publications with a predominantly adult readership. It will only allow promotional signs to be displayed at the event site or where young people are, by law, not allowed (bars for example).

As to whether Dunhill will be the title sponsor at next year's Scramble, Nault says "that's a tough one, based on what happens with (the tobacco) legislation." Meanwhile, Laura Hopcroft of Toronto-based Boundless, which handled communications for the Scramble, says the Tobacco Act restrictions mean the event will likely have to look for a new sponsor.