Apparel company PVH has agreed a deal for its Van Heusen formalwear brand to become the official men’s dress furnishings provider of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts organisation.
The length of the deal, which is the first of its kind for UFC, was not disclosed. As part of the agreement, Van Heusen’s menswear range will be made available to UFC fans around the world.
To mark the promotion, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw (pictured) and welterweight contender Stephen Thompson have taken part in a commercial promoting the Van Heusen Flex collection. The commercial will debut during Saturday’s ‘UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2’ bout at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.
Van Heusen’s UFC commercial campaign will be placed across national and local cable television, news and sports websites, and on select retailer sites. In-store and in-gym signage at various retailers will also be provided, with Life Time athletic resort locations to include the UFC logo and images of Dillashaw and Thompson.
Van Heusen branding will feature inside the Octagon at UFC 227, with the brand to also take over UFC.com’s homepage on the day of the fight. The commercial will also be featured as pre-roll on UFC’s YouTube channel, while creative featuring Dillashaw and Thompson will be promoted across the promotion’s social media channels.
Ken Duane, PVH’s chief executive for Heritage Brands, said: “Tapping into the burgeoning popularity of MMA, as well as two of its premier athletes in TJ Dillashaw and Stephen Thompson, was hugely important to us as we look to reach the next generation of Van Heusen men.”