The professional Halo 3 player, Tom "Tsquared" Taylor, landed a new gig with Dr. Pepper as part of a national distribution deal. Taylor, a 21-year old professional gamer with Major League Gaming, will have his face appear on 175 million bottles of the beverage between January and April of next year.
Mr. Taylor may not have the name recognition of, say, Derek Jeter, but he resembles him in other ways: he has a contract with the sports association Major League Gaming, puts in up to 15 hours a day practicing his Halo 3 skills, has an endorsement deal with Dr Pepper and has a high profile among gamers.Taylor is currently in the midst of a 3-year, $250,000 contract to play video games. As everyone who visits this site is a "gamer", feel free to tell us in the comments whether or not seeing a professional gamer on a beverage bottle will push you to purchase it more often.
“It’s not like I’m Tom Cruise or Usher walking down the street or anything like that, but it’s gotten to the point where you have to look your best when you go out,†Mr. Taylor said. “I carry a Sharpie around, like Peyton Manning,â€
With the new labels, Dr Pepper is trying to grab the attention of gaming fans, who at Major League Gaming are largely men in their teenage years and early 20s.