Season 20 of Bravo’s Top Chef has attracted Delta Airlines, Finish dishwasher detergent and additives, Ritz Crackers and Saratoga Spring Water as new sponsors for the cooking competition series.
Anolon Cookware, BMW of North America, Mastercard, Morton Salt, Universal Pictures and Vrbo return as sponsors for what is billed as a “special edition world all-stars” season, which has its debut on March 9.
Top Chef sponsors are incorporated into the show’s Quickfire and Elimination challenges.
“We are committed to fueling fandom with the best content in the business and at the same time, connecting the modern multidimensional consumer with brands that help shape culture across the world,“ Ann Scheiner, executive VP, advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, said. ”And Bravo’s Top Chef is a prime example of that in action.
“During this milestone international 20th season, we were able to open up the aperture and elevate this fast-paced competition series with both new and returning partners — including auto, financial services, food products and more — that are truly embedded seamlessly into each challenge, each meal, and each ingredient of the show as the cheftestants compete to be crowned the winner of Top Chef World All-Stars,” said Scheiner.
BMW is returning for a sixth consecutive year as exclusive auto sponsor. BMW X3s and X4s will take chefs to the countryside for a picnic where they will try to impress the judges during a custom elimination challenge. BMW is also the presenting sponsor of the digital series Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen on Bravotv.com.
Delta is the official airline of season 20, flying chefs from around the world to London to compete. Delta also helps bring the final four contestants to Paris for a Quickfire challenge.
Finish will demonstrate water conservation techniques during a Quickfire challenge. The winner of the challenge has a chance to win a chase prize of $10,000 and a $10,000 donation to the World Wildlife Fund, sponsored by Finish.
Ritz sponsors a Quickfire challenge in which the chefs will try to create amuse bouches on a Ritz cracker. The prize is $10,000.
Saratoga Water will provide the grand prize of $250,000 to the chef named Top Chef World All-Star.
Universal Pictures is sponsoring a fast and furious elimination challenge with a series of races to mark the May 19 release of Fast X.
Vrbo will provide a vacation home in the English countryside where the chefs will prepare a holiday meal in an elimination challenge.
Sponsoring Top Chef has proved appetizing for marketers over the show’s past season. Sponsors have seen integrations create a 50% lift in brand awareness, a 32% lift in brand favorability and a 36% lift in product consideration.
During last season, 71% of viewers expressed positive brand opinions of integrated partners.
“From foodies to athletes to travel enthusiasts, Bravo’s Top Chef has found the perfect trifecta of blending together storytelling, innovation and inspiration with a roster of world-leading brands to deliver a delicious and engaging viewing experience for decades,” Jamie Cutburth, executive VP, creative partnerships, NBCU Advertising and Partnerships, said.
“And for the first time, this flagship season shot entirely abroad in London and Paris allowed our NBCU Creative Partnerships team to think outside of the box with each and every one of our partners to bring imaginative, innovative and authentic integrations to the table that are enticing to our viewers, important to their businesses and critical for cheftestants in the kitchen themselves,” Cutburth said. ■
