INDIANAPOLIS — Throughout the bulk of his career, 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sported primary sponsorship from Huski Chocolate, a Swedish company that did very little business in the U.S. Ericsson is energized that his race fans and supporters of Andretti Global may very well use his sponsor this Month of May, especially in spring in Indiana.
Andretti Global announced Tuesday it landed Allegra, a leading non-drowsy over-the-counter allergy relief brand, as the primary sponsor for Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda for the Indianapolis 500, coming with a flashy pink, purple and orange livery that will be hard to miss on-track.
“This is all pretty organic, because I have seasonal allergies that I suffer from, and with Allegra coming onto the team, it was a very good connection. They’re about 0% brain interference and being able to stay sharp, and that’s why it makes a lot of sense and something that’s not only important for me but my pit crew,” Ericsson told IndyStar. “This is for them as well as the whole team.
“There’s a lot of that going around, and it was just an organic sponsorship that made a lot of sense with a big brand and a car that looks amazing. I think it’s going to stand out, and a lot of people are going to recognize it.”
With consumer-facing brands ever so slowly making their way into IndyCar and the 500 as the series starts to gain some traction, Ericsson said he’s particularly proud of being able to represent something for the biggest couple months of the year that fans may very well have a direct connection with.
“We obviously have Honda, and I drive Honda cars and represent them, so I think this is something where the fans can get connected to this, but I think there will also be a ton of people who struggle with (allergies) on a daily basis, and they may already have the connection with the brand, so that’s really cool,” he said. “We shouldn’t compare too much with NASCAR, but this is what they do really well. Of all the cars out on track, probably 90% of them are brands that people in the stands not only know, but are also huge brands.”
Allegra plans to turn Ericsson’s pit stops during the race into an activation opportunity for fans following on TV with the creation of the “Allegra pit shop” — a “real-time reaction-based challenge that will invite fans to scan QR codes on the backs of Ericsson’s pit crew suits to claim prizes, including two tickets to an upcoming race.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Marcus Ericsson’s Indy 500 car has primary sponsor ‘a lot of people are going to recognize’
Reporting by Nathan Brown, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
