MANNY PACQUIAO wore trunks worth at least P5 million for his non-title bout with Mexican Erik Morales yesterday.
Pacquiao, who endorses products ranging from socks and laundry detergent to pharmaceuticals, was peddling advertising space on his shorts for as much as P1.5 million a patch two months before the fight, according to an advertiser.
“He even told us that the best buy was the space at the back of his shorts, not in front,” said the advertiser, who wanted to buy but couldn’t afford the space after paying the boxer’s fee for a TV commercial.
Pacquiao, who was pitching the ad space himself, told the advertiser that the back of a fighter’s trunks was more prominent to TV audiences than the front. The spot was later taken by Motolite, a car battery firm.
Logo spread
During yesterday’s bout, shown on cable TV, the Inquirer counted at least six product patches on Pacquiao’s white trunks — Motolite, No Fear clothing line, Caf? Puro coffee,
Enoc energy group, Darlington socks and Philippine Airlines.
The red and yellow flames on the trunks, which distinguished him from Morales who was also in white, were part of the logo of the clothing company that has been dressing up the Filipino fighter since his early pro days.
Pacquiao recently launched his own clothing line bearing his initials, “MP.”
Colors, typeface and artwork all contributed to the prominence of the logos on Pacquiao’s shorts during the bout. For example, Motolite, which was in white sans-serif type on a red background, registered clearly on TV screens. So did Caf? Puro, which was also white on red.
The rest of the patches were barely recognizable in the dizzying layout.
Celebrity endorsers
Pacquiao is one of the most popular product endorsers in the country today. He has joined the ranks of celebrity sports endorsers like Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras and Lydia de Vega.
The boxing idol now has the advertising clout enjoyed for the longest time by show biz personalities Kris Aquino, Aga Muhlach, Sharon Cuneta and Cesar Montano, who have cornered the market for product endorsements since the ’90s.
Unlike them, Pacquiao peddles his own media outlet through a billboard company.
His talent fee for endorsing a brand in a tri-media campaign is still nowhere near the paychecks of Muhlach et al. So far, the biggest advertising deal Pacquiao has clinched was worth less than P10 million. This could change, however, with his win against Morales yesterday.
Recently, he added another item to his r?sum? — TV host. After starring in a movie, cutting a record and shooting a music video, he is now host of a weekly sports program, “Manny Pacquiao, Sports Idol,” on Channel 13.
