MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 9, 2006) - FLW Outdoors announced Monday that Johnson & Johnson, a manufacturer of health care products, is joining the family of FLW Outdoors sponsors. In 2006, Johnson & Johnson will promote their Imodium Advanced, Pepcid Complete, Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release and Tylenol Severe Allergy brands through all 10 FLW Outdoors tournament trails. In total, Johnson & Johnson will sponsor 235 events that offer purses exceeding $36.5 million during the 2006 tournament season.
As an FLW Outdoors sponsor, Johnson & Johnson's premier brands will be featured in a variety of media formats, including the "FLW Outdoors" TV program on FSN. Johnson & Johnson will also benefit from prominent advertisements in FLW Outdoors Magazine and on FLWOutdoors.com as well as signage at tournaments and product displays and sampling in the Family Fun Zone.
Johnson & Johnson will also field a team of professional anglers who will compete on various FLW Outdoors tournament trails. This team of anglers consists of Gabe Bolivar, Jason Knapp, Sean Minderman and Jack Gadlage.
Bolivar, who will run the Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release boat, is an up-and-coming pro from Ramona, Calif. In November, Bolivar finished second to Kellogg's pro Sam Newby by a single ounce at the 2005 EverStart Series Championship on Pickwick Lake.
Uniontown, Pa., native Knapp is another tour pro who is rapidly rising among the angling ranks. Knapp not only won the 2005 EverStart Series Northeast Division event on Lake Champlain, he also placed third as a co-angler at the 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship on Lake Hamilton. Knapp will be seen competing in the Pepcid Complete boat this season. Minderman is an accomplished Western pro who in 2006 will run the Tylenol Severe Allergy® boat. The Spokane, Wash., resident took first place and won $48,000 in cash and prizes at the 2003 EverStart Series Western Division event on Lake Mead. Last season, Minderman fished as a pro on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour as a rookie and narrowly missed qualifying for the championship.
Gadlage is a veteran bass pro from Benton, Ky., having fished in 34 events and placing in the top 10 nine times in his FLW Outdoors career. Gadlage will fish out of the Imodium Advanced? boat in 2006.
Irwin L. Jacobs, chairman of FLW Outdoors, said: "Once again, we're thrilled to welcome another well-respected, nonendemic company to our family of sponsors. Many of Johnson & Johnson's brands such as Tylenol and Pepcid are staples in the American household. We're pleased they have recognized the consumer power of the nation's 55 million anglers and their families."
Jacobs further stated: "FLW Outdoors is the world's largest professional-fishing organization, and our newest sponsor, Johnson & Johnson, is the world's most comprehensive manufacturer of health care products. The partnering of these two leaders is great example of how strong this sport has become as a marketing tool for some of America's largest companies. This announcement is truly one of the most significant in FLW Outdoors history."