Sponsors bet on World Cup

At Wal-Mart, shoppers can catch World Cup highlights while wandering the aisles. On television, Americans hear the familiar tune ``Take Me Out to the Ballgame" but with a twist: It is part of a Gatorade ad promoting soccer, not baseball. Even on the T, ads from the German Consulate proclaim to harried commuters that the US men's team is one of the top 32 in the world.

As the FIFA World Cup gets in full swing in Germany, Americans will not be able to escape the game that has long captivated the rest of the world. Some of America's biggest brands have embraced the event, raising awareness about soccer's Super Bowl in this country and funneling fans and funds into Major League Soccer, the sport's professional arm in the United States.

McDonald's has sent a handful of US children to be ``player escorts" in Germany. When Americans click on Yahoo's sports page, they will see a World Cup section featured right alongside of baseball, football, and golf.

``I live in New York, and there hasn't been a day of the last week where the World Cup hasn't been on the front of the sports section," Sunil Gulati , president of Kraft Soccer, which operates the New England Revolution, said recently. ``The media interest in the event far surpasses anything we've had for soccer before."

Though soccer has long taken a back seat here to baseball and football, the surge in interest among corporate sponsors stems from both its popularity among Latinos, a fast-growing demographic group that US advertisers covet, and also a growing conviction among some of soccer's global sponsors that, with the help of their marketing efforts, soccer will grow increasingly popular in the United States.

The World Cup represents a rare opportunity to draw in millions of casual sports fans to the game. If those US fans stick with soccer, all of the sport's corporate sponsors will benefit.

A case in point: Adidas AG, the global sporting goods juggernaut, until last year limited its involvement with the US professional league, Major League Soccer. Now, it is throwing its full weight behind the growth of soccer in the United States. Television viewers are likely to see its many ads during the World Cup. And after the World Cup ends, Adidas has no plans to disappear: It wants to underwrite a series of TV shows designed to introduce the casual World Cup fan to Major League Soccer.

``The naysayers have said the sport will never catch on," said Chris McGuire , sports marketing manager with Adidas Soccer. ``This sport is here for years to come. There's a lot of good things coming down the pipe."

The growing interest in US soccer is the product of a series of key steps that Major League Soccer took several years ago to change its fortunes. In 2000, Major League Soccer was struggling. Not only was it losing money, but a couple of the owners wanted out. Major League Soccer had to compete with other US soccer interests, such as the US national team, for corporate sponsorships -- something other US professional leagues never have to worry about.

Instead of throwing in the towel, the league's commissioner, Don Garber (recruited from the National Football League with the aid of Robert Kraft, owner of both football's New England Patriots and soccer's Revolution), did something counter intuitive: He persuaded Major League Soccer's investors to give him tens of millions of dollars to buy up the rights to nearly everything soccer-related in the United States. The first purchase: $40 million for the US English-language television rights to the World Cup.

Now, when major international teams such as FC Barcelona come to visit, it benefits Major League Soccer. Nearly everything World Cup-related in the United States brings in money for the league. Its marketing and promotions arm, Soccer United Marketing, even capitalized on immigrants' fierce allegiances to their home country's teams by becoming the promoter of the Mexican national team in the United States, and host of a tournament for Mexican soccer clubs that routinely draws large crowds.

The changes have increased the value of soccer to corporate sponsors, who now can become allies in reaching out to potential fans, said Garber .

``In this country, sports is not just about on the field," Garber said. ``It's about media highlights, sponsorships, in-store displays, and giving fans an immersed experience in the sport." Together, he said, the various ``touch points" make fans feel a part of something special. It's also part of what differentiates professional sports from the minor leagues, he said.

Though some US companies, such as Gillette Co., a unit of Procter & Gamble Co., use soccer to build the brand overseas rather than domestically, soccer officials here say they are making inroads.

Now, though Major League Soccer is still not profitable, the momentum appears to be turning. The arm of Major League Soccer that controls the other soccer rights generates much needed cash for the league. For the first time Major League Soccer is nearing a TV deal in which it will make money, a key hurdle for start-up sports leagues. Another boost comes from bricks and mortar: Several Major League Soccer teams are building their own soccer stadiums, moving away from playing in oversized half-empty football stadiums. By 2010, 10 or more teams will have them, league officials said. The stadiums not only serve as proof that the league is here to stay, officials say, they often mean the difference between profitable and money-losing teams.

When Major League Soccer went into business as the US promoters of the Mexican national team and others that come here, they also got another way to reach the Latino fans loyal to them -- a key selling point for US advertisers. The relationship has helped soccer attract several companies, ranging from Napa Auto Parts to Cingular, that want to reach Latinos. Now, when Major League Soccer officials call up marketing executives and push soccer sponsorships, they have a ready-made sales pitch:

``Hispanic life is about family, football, food, and faith," said Doug Quinn , president of SUM Enterprises, which helps Major League Soccer with sponsorships and marketing. ``I definitely can't provide religion, but I can provide the football, the food, and a great opportunity for family. There are very few entertainment marketing platforms that are as near and dear to the heart of the Mexican-American fan."

That opportunity to reach Latino fans is part of what has drawn some of America's biggest brand names into the World Cup for the first time. Wal-Mart created displays in about 500 stores with soccer jerseys, soccer balls, and other merchandise. The retailer's mobile soccer tour will let young soccer fans test their skills on an artificial playing field. Even the public address systems in some stores will announce World Cup scores.

``We definitely recognize that it's growing in popularity," said Tara Raddohl , a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. ``It reaches a target consumer for us, in terms of our Latino and Hispanic customers. We definitely want to offer them merchandise that's relevant."

Sasha Talcott can be reached at stalcott@globe.com.