Unilever Joins The Hundred As An Official Partner

Unilever has announced an official partnership with The Hundred ahead of the launch of the new cricket competition in summer 2021.

The three-year deal will see cricket’s newest competition team up with the company’s Sure and Lifebuoy brands, who will support a campaign based around The Hundred’s key mission of opening cricket up to the whole family. Sure and Lifebuoy branding will feature on LEDs at stadiums during The Hundred matches, while also obtaining a rights package of Sky TV advertising, player access and digital rights.

The partnership will help ensure all venues are safe and hygienic, through the supply of Lifebuoy products. The soap brand will also provide hand hygiene guidance for players, staff and supporters attending matches during The Hundred, as part of their commitment to improve the habits of communities around the world, that has already reached over 1 billion people.

Sure will be utilising the partnership to continue inspiring people to move more at a time when physical and mental wellbeing plays a vital part in daily life.

The competition will be played at the height of summer and feature eight city-based teams from Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton and two in London. It will be screened live by Sky and the BBC.

Rob Calder, Commercial Director for The Hundred, said: “This partnership brings together three brands driven by purpose – getting people to move more with Sure, improving the habits of people around the world through Lifebuoy, and bringing communities together to grow the game of cricket through The Hundred. We can’t wait to work together as we launch the competition in 2021 and bring the excitement of 100-ball cricket to fans new and old.”

Chris Barron, Vice President of Beauty & Personal Care at Unilever UK & Ireland, said: “With this partnership we are supporting the desire to open up the game to a more diverse audience and to inspire new audiences to participate in the excitement and thrill of cricket.

“Through our Lifebuoy brand we are able to help bring back the magic of live sport by providing effective sanitising and hygiene products to both players and supporters, and with our Sure brand we can continue to inspire people to move more at a time when physical activity continues to play such a huge role in our wellbeing. 2021 looks set to be an exciting year of cricket with the launch of this new competition and we’re delighted to be part of it.”