Since 1978, Subaru of America Inc. has sponsored Aspen's Winternational races. Increasingly, Subaru and the producers of the event have transformed the posh resort community for one week each year into a giant advertisement for the automobile company.
The best downhill racers in the world are chauffered around in Subaru station wagons. Subaru banners are hung in restaurants and bars throughout Aspen. On the town mall, volunteers raffle off a donated Subaru to raise money for the U.S. ski team. Network television coverage of the races also is sponsored by Subaru.
At Aspen and other capitals of U.S. skiing, the auto importer has spent heavily to stamp its name all over the sport. Since 1976, when Subaru became the official sponsor of the U.S. ski team, the Cherry Hill company has poured more than $50 million into ski-related promotions.
Initially, the arrangement required only that Subaru provide transportation for the team at its stops on the racing circuit in the United States and Europe.
During the last decade, however, the company has expanded its affiliation with skiing to include promotion of premier events, sponsorship of individual skiers and support for a growing number of related activities.
Indeed, no other auto company has sought to create such a strong association between its vehicles and a particular sport.
This year, Subaru sponsored all of the World Cup ski races held in the United States and all of the country's national championship events. A season that began in Waterville Valley, N.H., in December will end at the free-style ski-jumping championships in Squaw Valley, Calif., on April 4. Along the way, the company has sponsored races and jumping events in Lake Placid, N.Y.; Ishpeming, Mich.; Reno, Nev., and Steamboat Springs, Crested Butte, Copper Mountain and Vail, Colo.
