By Liza Horan
New York—Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport picked up endorsement deals with
Juvederm, a skincare treatment that fills in wrinkles, for its "Decades of Smooth" campaign that ties into 2008 tournament sponsorships by parent company
Allergan. The tennis-cosmetic connection could further open the field for relationships between the sport's stars and cosmetics and healthcare products. Picture Maria Sharapova or Ana Ivanovic as the next
Cover Girl; though chances are they wouldn't take the pathway set out by
America's Next Top Model.Serena and Venus Williams have been there.
Avon hooked them with a three-year deal in 2000, the same year that
Sanex, a popular brand of hygiene products in Europe, inked a three-year title sponsorship of the
WTA Tour. Avon was the better sell in the United States, since Sanex isn't marketed here. While scoring the sponsorship was a breathrough for the tour, which had shopped around the opportunity, "Sanex WTA Tour" didn't resonate with domestic fans.
Perfume has been done a bit—recent products include
Parlux fragrances by Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick—but the usual suspects for players endorsements remain gear, apparel, footwear, and consumer products like cameras, watches, and cars.
The Juvederm connection is bigger than the player endorsements. The brand's parent company, Allergan, signed on to sponsor three tournaments in 2008, starting with the Sony Ericsson Open. The others are the
East West Bank Classic and the
U.S. Open.
"Tennis was a natural fit," said Allergan's Leslie Bryant, describing why Allergan chose tennis as the promotional platform. "Juvederm is the first medical aesthetic brand to sponsor these tennis tournaments, so there was a great opportunity to educate the many men and women who love tennis, are active and want to take care of their skin."
While Juvederm's relationship with Austin, 45, and Davenport, 31, ties into the tournament sponsorships by Allergan, Austin says she discovered and used the dermafill product independently.
"I liked it right away. It's hyaluronic acid, which is naturally-occuring. It's safe, FDA-approved, and it didn't hurt—just stung a bit," Austin said in a telephone interview during the
Sony Ericsson Open. "And there's no downtime—very little, I ice it for five minutes after the treatment and then get in the car and go. It lasts up to a year."
It might sound scripted, but Austin is forthcoming about her previous use of Restylane to ease wrinkle lines from sun damage.
"With high-definition TV everything shows up. I was secretive at first about it, only telling a few friends, but now I'm proud to talk about it," Austin explained. "For all those years of playing in the sun without sunscreen I'm seeing the effects of aging, earlier than most. I grew up at a time when sunscreen wasn't mainstream. I was out in the sun playing tennis every day in Southern California. It wasn't 'til I was about 18 that sunscreen came around. Now when my three boys go outside they are covered head-to-toe."
It gets a little more personal: Her mother has had pre-cancerous cells removed several times.
"She's lived in Southern California for 46 years and was always outside, whether at the beach or playing tennis. She's had a lot of sun and now she's paying for it. The options we have that our mothers didn't have has really changed things," she said, adding that she had a check-up with the dermatologist the week before the Sony Ericsson Open.
Allergan makes both Botox, which relaxes facial muscles, and Juvederm, which adds volume to wrinkles to smooth lines.
