Business of Boxing: Manny Pacquiao Goes Global

By Charles Jay

The average boxing fan is obviously enthralled with the all-action style of Manny Pacquiao, as he moves up in weight class and powers his way past one opponent after another, on the way to what he hopes is the most lucrative fight of all-time against Floyd Mayweather. But if we are talking about what Pacquiao, the marketing commodity, can do outside the ring, the most important ‘win” of his career has just taken place and is playing out before your very eyes.

Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank

Recently he signed a deal with Hewlett-Packard (HP), which is going all-out with its TouchPad to compete head-to-head with Apple’s iPad 2. Pacquiao was signed to push that, along with the company’s Veer smartphone and other products, for what is reported to be a cool million dollars per year, for three years.

However, that’s not where it ends. There are reports that Pacquiao is going to receive a percentage of the sales of every HP product he promotes. And he will also have his picture on every box of HP chips.

This is a far-reaching deal. It includes not just television (and unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have undoubtedly seen it somewhere), but print ads, radio and billboards. What is especially significant about this deal is that it is his first global endorsement, and what Team Pacquiao hopes is the first of many.

Pacquiao is by no means the only celebrity who is lending his name to promote the HP brand. Indeed, Russell brand, Miranda Cosgrove and Lea Michelle are among the new faces who will be part of HP campaigns. But it is perhaps a statement about boxing as an international sport, with international reach, that Pacquiao is an anchor spokesperson for HP’s efforts.

There are multiple benefits to Pacquiao that go beyond money. Yes, he is boosting the brand of the sponsor, but at the same time HP is adding credibility to the Pacquiao brand as well. In the United States, no matter what the pay-per-view numbers may look like, boxers are hardly household names to the general public, and appearing in these ads gives Pacquiao the opportunity to introduce himself more and more to mainstream America. From that perspective, it would be more than worth his while to do the ads for no fee (shhh! Don’t say that too loud).

But think about it; what kind of value can you put on the mileage he is getting from the packaging? Or from the declaration and reaffirmation from HP, an iconic monster company that virtually gave birth to Silicon Valley, that he is more than important enough to be representing their product? There is plenty of prestige that comes with an association like that, with a company that, even after a sharp dip this year, still has a market cap of about $76 billion.

On top of that, a residual benefit of doing those ads is that Pacquiao gets a plug for another career he is launching – that of a singer. “Millions of Hits!,” he says in the commercials, as he belts out “Sometimes When We Touch.” Okay, I guess we’re going to see about that. But judging from his likability factor, even if he’s not another Elvis, we wouldn’t bet against him in that regard.