Electronic Arts and 'grooming'-centric shaver company Gillette have signed a wide-ranging deal that will see a co-branded 'Gillette/EA Sports Champions of Gaming', with sports stars such as Tiger Woods (pictured) playing the winners of a worldwide sports gaming championship.
Golfer Woods, who is partnered with both EA (for the
Tiger Woods golf game) and the Proctor & Gamble-owned Gillette, joined the two firms to "...announce a global partnership that will create a variety of co-promotional marketing opportunities focused on similar male consumers."
The 'Gillette/EA Sports Champions of Gaming'-- described by the companies as "the world's largest multi-sport gaming tournament" -- will officially launch in late October, and provide gamers the opportunity to compete against others from around the world for the chance to be named a Global Champion of Gaming.
The live global finals will be conducted in Tampa, Florida, in January 2009, with the Global Champions in each gaming category competing against one of the 'Gillette Champions' -- Gillette's group of global sports superstars that includes Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Derek Jeter.
Gamers will be able to play Xbox 360 versions of EA Sports titles on Xbox Live to participate in the tournament, with titles including
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, NASCAR 09, Madden NFL 09, NBA LIVE 09 and
FIFA Soccer 09.
The deal will include joint online marketing efforts in more than 20 markets in North America, Latin America, Western Europe and Asia.
