BMW Signs as Auto Sponsor of Bravo’s ‘Top Chef’
BMW, Patron tequila and Newest Secrets Resorts & Spas have signed on as charter sponsors of the fourteenth cycle of Bravo’s popular “Top Chef.” The three join a long list of marketers who have held an association with the show.
BMW marks the return of an automotive sponsor to “Top Chef,” noted Carrie Stimmel, senior vice president of lifestyle advertising sales at NBCUniversal, in an interview. “Top Chef” will feature the automaker’s X5 xDrive40e plug-in electric hybrid Sports Activity Vehicle being driven in six episodes by the contestants and judges. Viewers will see he vehicle’s electric charger and charging station and hear mentions of the vehicle features.
Patrón tequila is the first brand to be integrated into both the program’s “Quickfire” and “Elimination” challenges, said Stimmel. The first will make use of the brand’s ultra-premium Patrón Silver, Patrón Reposado and Patrón Añejo tequilas and highlight the flavor profiles of each. Later in the season, the final four chefs will compete at Patrón’s distillery, “Hacienda Patrón,” in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, and focus on the creation of a cocktail. Following the challenge, BravoTV.com’s “Behind the Kitchen” will give viewers an inside look at how the Patrón-inspired challenge came together. Throughout the season, Patrón will sponsor vignettes created by Bravo featuring past show contestants Jeremy Ford, Kristen Kish and Kwame Onwuachi mixing recipes using the Roca Patrón line of artisanal tequilas.
The final two episodes of the season will take place at the Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya, which will also offer a ” Quickfire” Challenge prize and serve as the location of the final challenge of the season.
Toyota, Kraft, Cigna, and Chase Sapphire are among the marketers that have taken part in the series in the past.
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