#sponsorship

Mazda just announced that it’s become the official automobile sponsor of South by South West (SXSW), a music, film and interactive festival hosted annually in Austin, Texas.

Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” has gas for at least nine seasons.

NASCAR driver Kurt Busch will get a little Ricky Bobby hustle this weekend at the Talladega Motor Speedway.

No matter what you race on, be it snow, ice, water or pavement, Champion will sponsor 15 winning speed demons, the most significant of which will be a $50,000 prize.

It all started back in May, when General Motors and Manchester United first discussed forging an advertising partnership. Then GM ousted its Global Marketing head Joel Ewanick, a mere 48 hours before the record sponsorship deal was done.

Luxury cars are expensive to maintain, but a little-advertised program called “Ultimate Service” takes care of that for folks who buy a new BMW.

If you’re a New Orleans Saints fan, you’ll soon be watching the NFL team play at the newly named Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Chevrolet vehicles will appear throughout the season as product placement, as well as the usual barrage of ads. X Factor differs from American Idol in that there will be a lot of traveling involved, and “a lot of telephoning of judges and discussions of the groups they represent,” says Keith Hindle, CEO of producing company FremantleMedia Enterprises. “That gives us the ability to amp that up a bit and feature in-car technology. That was one of the key hooks.”

One of the leading teams in the American Le Mans Series has published a tactful but strongly worded essay taking the ALMS to task for failing to secure a proper live television deal for the 2011 season, when the race series has previously been able to secure such a contract.

Earlier this month a debate raged on whether the American armed forces should sponsor NASCAR teams, one that had the potential to get ugly. But the House voted 241-148 to ditch the proposal, allowing the Army, Air Force, and National Guard to keep on racin’.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) has been campaigning for the removal of the U.S. Army’s sponsorship of a NASCAR entrant in the Sprint Cup Series, a project that costs the Pentagon about $7 million dollars per year.