HY Inks First-Ever Beard Sponsorship for Wahl

Some people are born with great facial hair, others achieve great facial hair, and some have great facial hair thrust upon them. In the case of Washington Nationals Pitcher Gio Gonzalez, it’s all of the above, making Gonzalez, or rather his beard, the perfect candidate and representative of great facial hair for Wahl, the men’s grooming leader.

As a long-time unofficial sponsor of facial hair, Hoffman York saw an opportunity for Wahl to claim its rightful role as the “Official Sponsor of Facial Hair,” with the sponsorship of Gio Gonzalez’ beard.  The terms of the deal are simple, Gonzalez agrees to keep his beard well-groomed and conditioned and all references to his beard must be preceded by “sponsored, or brought to you, by Wahl.”

The first ever beard sponsorship announcement was held in D.C., where Gonzalez was instrumental in helping the nation’s capital become this year’s Most Facial Hair Friendly City in America – established by research conducted on behalf of Wahl. In addition to receiving a certificate of achievement for facial hair excellence, Gonzalez got his beard trimmed for charity, part of Wahl’s mobile tour of the 10 Most Facial Hair Friendly Cities in America.

And while Gio Gonzalez was the first person to get his facial hair sponsored, he won’t be the last.  Guys who post a pic using #OfficialSponsorOfFacialHair to Twitter or Instagram have the opportunity to get their own facial hair sponsored too as well as compete for the ultimate in facial hair glory, the Wahl Man of the Year competition.

To date, the PR and social campaign has generated millions of impressions with coverage in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Fox Sports and Yahoo Sports.

This is the second pro athlete sponsorship the agency has secured this year. Jordy Nelson, one of pro football’s leading receivers, has been cutting his hair since his college days at Kansas State University and is currently working with Wahl promoting their line of hair clippers.