Category: News
Los patrocinadores ganan visibilidad en los Juegos de Invierno con publicidad y menciones
Por JAMES ELLINGWORTH
MILÁN (AP) — Eileen Gu y todos los demás esquiadores de estilo libre esperan sus puntuaciones junto a una gran nevera con la marca Powerade, y luego se deslizan para irse sin tomar un trago.
Las botellas de la bebida deportiva azul están apiladas en los banquillos de penalización de hockey. Incluso los pañuelos de papel en la zona de “Kiss and Cry” del patinaje artístico, cargada de dramatismo, llevan marca.
Una de las formas en que los Juegos Olímpicos suelen destacar es por la ausencia de publicidad en los recorridos, las pistas y las laderas. Pero cada vez más en los Juegos de Milán-Cortina, los patrocinadores se están colando en la acción.
“Seguimos abriendo esas oportunidades para los socios”, manifestó Anne-Sophie Voumard, directora de marketing del Comité Olímpico Internacional, y señaló que los productos de los patrocinadores ahora pueden “estar presentes de forma orgánica” de manera más amplia.
El cambio parece haberse acelerado desde que el fabricante francés de artículos de lujo LVMH colocó de forma destacada su marca Louis Vuitton en la ceremonia de apertura de los Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024.
“Parece que ha habido una necesidad y un deseo crecientes por parte de los patrocinadores de que el COI muestre un mayor valor en el programa TOP (para los socios más grandes)”, le dijo a The Associated Press Terrence Burns, quien ha trabajado para el organismo olímpico en marketing y ha asesorado a patrocinadores y candidaturas de sedes.
Hay emplazamiento de producto en televisión, aunque sigue siendo moderado en comparación con la mayoría de los deportes estadounidenses. Los espectadores dentro de las arenas olímpicas escuchan menciones de los locutores y ven logotipos en la pantalla gigante.
Todo esto ocurre mientras los patrocinadores ponen la mira en nuevas oportunidades para los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles 2028.
El COI busca crear valor adicional en su programa TOP, que ha sido un éxito financiero para la organización durante cuatro décadas. Hay 11 patrocinadores TOP en Milán, después de alcanzar un máximo de 15 en París. Los ingresos en 2025 bajaron un poco, a 560 millones de dólares en efectivo y servicios, frente a 871 millones de dólares en 2024.
Ver un partido de hockey en la arena es diferente
Un partido olímpico de hockey se ve limpio y sin carácter comercial en televisión para los aficionados de la NHL, acostumbrados a ver patrocinadores en las vallas. En el recinto es un poco distinto.
“¡Esta es la ola Corona Cero!”, ruge un locutor, vinculando una marca de cerveza sin alcohol a los esfuerzos por animar a los aficionados en un silencioso partido de tarde con una ola alrededor de la arena.
Un fabricante de automóviles recibe una mención con la “Stellantis Freeze Cam”, y una entrevista con un boxeador durante el intermedio entre periodos es “gracias a Salomon”, una marca de ropa de esquí que firmó un acuerdo de patrocinio con el comité organizador de Milán Cortina.
Burns cree que los logotipos en las arenas olímpicas son un impulso moral para los patrocinadores, pero que valen relativamente poco en comparación con las grandes campañas que suelen lanzar en el año previo a los Juegos.
“Creo que es un ‘bien hecho’ psicológico ver tu marca en algún tablero dentro y alrededor de los Juegos Olímpicos”, comentó Burns. “Lo entiendo, pero muéstrenme cómo eso les ayuda a vender más cosas”.
Una tendencia a largo plazo de cara a los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles 2028 La Carta Olímpica, una especie de constitución de los Juegos, dice que cualquier logotipo en un recinto olímpico debe aprobarse “de manera excepcional”, pero el COI ha ido relajando gradualmente sus restricciones.
“El mundo olímpico se mueve lento, y así debe ser. Es una marca de 3.000 años, así que tienen que ser cuidadosos con ella”, sostuvo Burns.
Hace apenas una década, la política de “recinto limpio” era tan estricta que el personal del COI revisaba los secadores de manos en los baños de las arenas para asegurarse de que la marca del fabricante estuviera cubierta con cinta.
Para los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio en 2021, se relajaron las restricciones a los atletas para promocionar a sus patrocinadores personales en redes sociales, tras una impugnación legal en Alemania.
En los Juegos de París, las medallas se entregaron en el podio en cajas con la marca Louis Vuitton antes de que a los atletas se les diera un teléfono para “la Selfie de la Victoria Olímpica, presentada por Samsung”, una nueva tradición que ha continuado en los Juegos de Milán Cortina.
Voumard, la directora de marketing del COI, reconoció la necesidad de “tener presente el legado de esos (Juegos) Olímpicos y la singularidad de la presentación”.
Nuevas oportunidades
Los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles abrirán un nuevo terreno en materia de patrocinio.
Por primera vez, el COI ha aprobado la venta de derechos de nombre para recintos en un programa piloto. La sede de voleibol en Anaheim mantendrá su nombre Honda Center, tal como lo hace para los partidos de la NHL, y Comcast pondrá su marca en una arena temporal para el squash.
Hasta ahora, los estadios con nombres de patrocinadores tenían que cambiar a nombres genéricos para los Juegos Olímpicos. El O2 Arena de Londres se convirtió en la North Greenwich Arena para el baloncesto y la gimnasia en 2012, y una serie de estadios de fútbol franceses recibieron nuevos nombres para 2024.
Burns predice que el COI podría quedar bajo presión de los organizadores de Los Ángeles para dar más pasos favorables a los patrocinadores, y que quizá necesite rechazar algunas solicitudes para proteger la marca olímpica.
“No es irrazonable pensar que Los Ángeles miraría lo que pasó en París con Louis Vuitton o incluso con Samsung en un podio”, expresó Burns.
“Es su responsabilidad fiduciaria tratar de ganar tanto dinero como puedan. Así que van a estar buscando todas y cada una de las oportunidades para generar ingresos incrementales de los patrocinadores. Ese es el papel del COI como franquiciador: proteger eso”.
___
El redactor deportivo de AP Graham Dunbar contribuyó a este reportaje.
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Los patrocinadores ganan visibilidad en los Juegos de Invierno con publicidad y menciones
Por JAMES ELLINGWORTH
MILÁN (AP) — Eileen Gu y todos los demás esquiadores de estilo libre esperan sus puntuaciones junto a una gran nevera con la marca Powerade, y luego se deslizan para irse sin tomar un trago.
Las botellas de la bebida deportiva azul están apiladas en los banquillos de penalización de hockey. Incluso los pañuelos de papel en la zona de “Kiss and Cry” del patinaje artístico, cargada de dramatismo, llevan marca.
Una de las formas en que los Juegos Olímpicos suelen destacar es por la ausencia de publicidad en los recorridos, las pistas y las laderas. Pero cada vez más en los Juegos de Milán-Cortina, los patrocinadores se están colando en la acción.
“Seguimos abriendo esas oportunidades para los socios”, manifestó Anne-Sophie Voumard, directora de marketing del Comité Olímpico Internacional, y señaló que los productos de los patrocinadores ahora pueden “estar presentes de forma orgánica” de manera más amplia.
El cambio parece haberse acelerado desde que el fabricante francés de artículos de lujo LVMH colocó de forma destacada su marca Louis Vuitton en la ceremonia de apertura de los Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024.
“Parece que ha habido una necesidad y un deseo crecientes por parte de los patrocinadores de que el COI muestre un mayor valor en el programa TOP (para los socios más grandes)”, le dijo a The Associated Press Terrence Burns, quien ha trabajado para el organismo olímpico en marketing y ha asesorado a patrocinadores y candidaturas de sedes.
Hay emplazamiento de producto en televisión, aunque sigue siendo moderado en comparación con la mayoría de los deportes estadounidenses. Los espectadores dentro de las arenas olímpicas escuchan menciones de los locutores y ven logotipos en la pantalla gigante.
Todo esto ocurre mientras los patrocinadores ponen la mira en nuevas oportunidades para los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles 2028.
El COI busca crear valor adicional en su programa TOP, que ha sido un éxito financiero para la organización durante cuatro décadas. Hay 11 patrocinadores TOP en Milán, después de alcanzar un máximo de 15 en París. Los ingresos en 2025 bajaron un poco, a 560 millones de dólares en efectivo y servicios, frente a 871 millones de dólares en 2024.
Ver un partido de hockey en la arena es diferente
Un partido olímpico de hockey se ve limpio y sin carácter comercial en televisión para los aficionados de la NHL, acostumbrados a ver patrocinadores en las vallas. En el recinto es un poco distinto.
“¡Esta es la ola Corona Cero!”, ruge un locutor, vinculando una marca de cerveza sin alcohol a los esfuerzos por animar a los aficionados en un silencioso partido de tarde con una ola alrededor de la arena.
Un fabricante de automóviles recibe una mención con la “Stellantis Freeze Cam”, y una entrevista con un boxeador durante el intermedio entre periodos es “gracias a Salomon”, una marca de ropa de esquí que firmó un acuerdo de patrocinio con el comité organizador de Milán Cortina.
Burns cree que los logotipos en las arenas olímpicas son un impulso moral para los patrocinadores, pero que valen relativamente poco en comparación con las grandes campañas que suelen lanzar en el año previo a los Juegos.
“Creo que es un ‘bien hecho’ psicológico ver tu marca en algún tablero dentro y alrededor de los Juegos Olímpicos”, comentó Burns. “Lo entiendo, pero muéstrenme cómo eso les ayuda a vender más cosas”.
Una tendencia a largo plazo de cara a los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles 2028 La Carta Olímpica, una especie de constitución de los Juegos, dice que cualquier logotipo en un recinto olímpico debe aprobarse “de manera excepcional”, pero el COI ha ido relajando gradualmente sus restricciones.
“El mundo olímpico se mueve lento, y así debe ser. Es una marca de 3.000 años, así que tienen que ser cuidadosos con ella”, sostuvo Burns.
Hace apenas una década, la política de “recinto limpio” era tan estricta que el personal del COI revisaba los secadores de manos en los baños de las arenas para asegurarse de que la marca del fabricante estuviera cubierta con cinta.
Para los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio en 2021, se relajaron las restricciones a los atletas para promocionar a sus patrocinadores personales en redes sociales, tras una impugnación legal en Alemania.
En los Juegos de París, las medallas se entregaron en el podio en cajas con la marca Louis Vuitton antes de que a los atletas se les diera un teléfono para “la Selfie de la Victoria Olímpica, presentada por Samsung”, una nueva tradición que ha continuado en los Juegos de Milán Cortina.
Voumard, la directora de marketing del COI, reconoció la necesidad de “tener presente el legado de esos (Juegos) Olímpicos y la singularidad de la presentación”.
Nuevas oportunidades
Los Juegos Olímpicos de Los Ángeles abrirán un nuevo terreno en materia de patrocinio.
Por primera vez, el COI ha aprobado la venta de derechos de nombre para recintos en un programa piloto. La sede de voleibol en Anaheim mantendrá su nombre Honda Center, tal como lo hace para los partidos de la NHL, y Comcast pondrá su marca en una arena temporal para el squash.
Hasta ahora, los estadios con nombres de patrocinadores tenían que cambiar a nombres genéricos para los Juegos Olímpicos. El O2 Arena de Londres se convirtió en la North Greenwich Arena para el baloncesto y la gimnasia en 2012, y una serie de estadios de fútbol franceses recibieron nuevos nombres para 2024.
Burns predice que el COI podría quedar bajo presión de los organizadores de Los Ángeles para dar más pasos favorables a los patrocinadores, y que quizá necesite rechazar algunas solicitudes para proteger la marca olímpica.
“No es irrazonable pensar que Los Ángeles miraría lo que pasó en París con Louis Vuitton o incluso con Samsung en un podio”, expresó Burns.
“Es su responsabilidad fiduciaria tratar de ganar tanto dinero como puedan. Así que van a estar buscando todas y cada una de las oportunidades para generar ingresos incrementales de los patrocinadores. Ese es el papel del COI como franquiciador: proteger eso”.
___
El redactor deportivo de AP Graham Dunbar contribuyó a este reportaje.
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Bravos comenzarán la temporada sin los abridores Schwellenbach y Waldrep
NORTH PORT, Florida, EE.UU. (AP) — El abridor derecho Spencer Schwellenbach fue operado el miércoles para limpiar “cuerpos sueltos” en el codo y Hurston Waldrep, otro candidato para entrar en la rotación de abridores de los Bravos de Atlanta, tiene previsto someterse a un procedimiento similar la próxima semana.
Aunque los Bravos no revelaron un calendario sobre cuándo podrían estar disponibles los pitchers, el mánager Walt Weiss comentó dijo el miércoles que confía en que ambos puedan lanzar esta temporada.
Schwellenbach, de 25 años, fue incluido en la lista de lesionados de 60 días el 10 de febrero, al inicio de los entrenamientos de primavera, debido a una inflamación en el codo derecho. Tuvo marca de 7-4 con efectividad de 3,08 en 17 aperturas el año pasado, antes de perderse los últimos tres meses de la temporada por una fractura en el codo derecho.
Waldrep, la selección de primera ronda de los Bravos procedente de Florida en el draft amateur de 2023, sintió molestias después de lanzar práctica de bateo durante el fin de semana. Una resonancia magnética no mostró daño en los ligamentos del lanzador, que cumplirá 24 años el 1 de marzo.
Antes de lesionarse la temporada pasada, Schwellenbach registró marca de 6-1 con efectividad de 2,60 en sus últimas 10 aperturas, con los Bravos ganando ocho de esos juegos. En ese tramo, sumó 71 ponches y 11 bases por bolas en 69 entradas y un tercio. Su debut en las Grandes Ligas fue en 2024, cuando terminó con marca de 8-7 y efectividad de 3,35 en 21 aperturas.
___
Deportes MLB: https://apnews.com/deportes
Bravos comenzarán la temporada sin los abridores Schwellenbach y Waldrep
NORTH PORT, Florida, EE.UU. (AP) — El abridor derecho Spencer Schwellenbach fue operado el miércoles para limpiar “cuerpos sueltos” en el codo y Hurston Waldrep, otro candidato para entrar en la rotación de abridores de los Bravos de Atlanta, tiene previsto someterse a un procedimiento similar la próxima semana.
Aunque los Bravos no revelaron un calendario sobre cuándo podrían estar disponibles los pitchers, el mánager Walt Weiss comentó dijo el miércoles que confía en que ambos puedan lanzar esta temporada.
Schwellenbach, de 25 años, fue incluido en la lista de lesionados de 60 días el 10 de febrero, al inicio de los entrenamientos de primavera, debido a una inflamación en el codo derecho. Tuvo marca de 7-4 con efectividad de 3,08 en 17 aperturas el año pasado, antes de perderse los últimos tres meses de la temporada por una fractura en el codo derecho.
Waldrep, la selección de primera ronda de los Bravos procedente de Florida en el draft amateur de 2023, sintió molestias después de lanzar práctica de bateo durante el fin de semana. Una resonancia magnética no mostró daño en los ligamentos del lanzador, que cumplirá 24 años el 1 de marzo.
Antes de lesionarse la temporada pasada, Schwellenbach registró marca de 6-1 con efectividad de 2,60 en sus últimas 10 aperturas, con los Bravos ganando ocho de esos juegos. En ese tramo, sumó 71 ponches y 11 bases por bolas en 69 entradas y un tercio. Su debut en las Grandes Ligas fue en 2024, cuando terminó con marca de 8-7 y efectividad de 3,35 en 21 aperturas.
___
Deportes MLB: https://apnews.com/deportes
Bravos comenzarán la temporada sin los abridores Schwellenbach y Waldrep
NORTH PORT, Florida, EE.UU. (AP) — El abridor derecho Spencer Schwellenbach fue operado el miércoles para limpiar “cuerpos sueltos” en el codo y Hurston Waldrep, otro candidato para entrar en la rotación de abridores de los Bravos de Atlanta, tiene previsto someterse a un procedimiento similar la próxima semana.
Aunque los Bravos no revelaron un calendario sobre cuándo podrían estar disponibles los pitchers, el mánager Walt Weiss comentó dijo el miércoles que confía en que ambos puedan lanzar esta temporada.
Schwellenbach, de 25 años, fue incluido en la lista de lesionados de 60 días el 10 de febrero, al inicio de los entrenamientos de primavera, debido a una inflamación en el codo derecho. Tuvo marca de 7-4 con efectividad de 3,08 en 17 aperturas el año pasado, antes de perderse los últimos tres meses de la temporada por una fractura en el codo derecho.
Waldrep, la selección de primera ronda de los Bravos procedente de Florida en el draft amateur de 2023, sintió molestias después de lanzar práctica de bateo durante el fin de semana. Una resonancia magnética no mostró daño en los ligamentos del lanzador, que cumplirá 24 años el 1 de marzo.
Antes de lesionarse la temporada pasada, Schwellenbach registró marca de 6-1 con efectividad de 2,60 en sus últimas 10 aperturas, con los Bravos ganando ocho de esos juegos. En ese tramo, sumó 71 ponches y 11 bases por bolas en 69 entradas y un tercio. Su debut en las Grandes Ligas fue en 2024, cuando terminó con marca de 8-7 y efectividad de 3,35 en 21 aperturas.
___
Deportes MLB: https://apnews.com/deportes
Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners
The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has lashed out at The Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese’s brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products.
Hershey acknowledges some recipe changes but said Wednesday that it was trying to meet consumer demand for innovation. High cocoa prices also have led Hershey and other manufacturers to experiment with using less chocolate in recent years.
Brad Reese, 70, said in a Feb. 14 letter to Hershey’s corporate brand manager that for multiple Reese’s products, the company replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut crème.
“How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote in the letter, which he posted on his LinkedIn profile.
He is the grandson of H.B. Reese, who spent two years at Hershey before forming his own candy company in 1919. H.B. Reese invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928; his six sons eventually sold his company to Hershey in 1963.
Hershey said Wednesday that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been, with milk chocolate and peanut butter that the company makes itself from roasted peanuts and a few other ingredients, including sugar and salt. But some Reese’s ingredients vary, Hershey said.
“As we’ve grown and expanded the Reese’s product line, we make product recipe adjustments that allow us to make new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s fans have come to love and ask for, while always protecting the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter,” the company said.
Brad Reese said he thinks Hershey went too far. He said he recently threw out a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts, which were a new product released for Valentine’s Day. The packaging notes that the heart-shaped candies are made from “chocolate candy and peanut butter crème,” not milk chocolate and peanut butter.
“It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press in an interview. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict ingredient and labeling requirements for chocolate. To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans and contains no alcohol. Products also must contain at least 12% milk solids and 3.39% milk fat.
Companies can get around those rules by using other wording on their packaging. The wrapper for Hershey’s Mr. Goodbar, for example, contains the words “chocolate candy” instead of “milk chocolate.”
Reese said Hershey changed the recipes for multiple Reese’s products in recent years. Reese’s Take5 and Fast Break bars used to be coated with milk chocolate, he said, but now they aren’t. In the early 2000’s, when Hershey released White Reese’s, they were made with white chocolate. Now they’re made with a white creme, he said.
Reese said Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold in Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland are also different than U.S. versions. On Wednesday, a package advertised on the website of British online supermarket Ocado described the candy as “milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut butter crème.”
In a conference call with investors last year, Hershey Chief Financial Officer Steven Voskuil said the company made some changes in its formulas. Voskuil did not say for which products but said Hershey was very careful to maintain the “taste profile and the specialness of our iconic brands.”
“I would say in all the changes that we’ve made thus far, there has been no consumer impact whatsoever. As you can imagine, even on the smallest brand in the portfolio, if we were to make a change, there’s extensive consumer testing,” he said.
But Brad Reese said he often has people tell him that Reese’s products don’t taste as good as they used to. He said Pennsylvania-based Hershey should keep in mind a famous quote from its founder, Milton Hershey: “Give them quality, that’s the best advertising.”
“I absolutely believe in innovation, but my preference is innovation with quality,” Reese said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-hershey/
Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners
The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has lashed out at The Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese’s brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products.
Hershey acknowledges some recipe changes but said Wednesday that it was trying to meet consumer demand for innovation. High cocoa prices also have led Hershey and other manufacturers to experiment with using less chocolate in recent years.
Brad Reese, 70, said in a Feb. 14 letter to Hershey’s corporate brand manager that for multiple Reese’s products, the company replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut crème.
“How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote in the letter, which he posted on his LinkedIn profile.
He is the grandson of H.B. Reese, who spent two years at Hershey before forming his own candy company in 1919. H.B. Reese invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928; his six sons eventually sold his company to Hershey in 1963.
Hershey said Wednesday that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been, with milk chocolate and peanut butter that the company makes itself from roasted peanuts and a few other ingredients, including sugar and salt. But some Reese’s ingredients vary, Hershey said.
“As we’ve grown and expanded the Reese’s product line, we make product recipe adjustments that allow us to make new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s fans have come to love and ask for, while always protecting the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter,” the company said.
Brad Reese said he thinks Hershey went too far. He said he recently threw out a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts, which were a new product released for Valentine’s Day. The packaging notes that the heart-shaped candies are made from “chocolate candy and peanut butter crème,” not milk chocolate and peanut butter.
“It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press in an interview. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict ingredient and labeling requirements for chocolate. To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans and contains no alcohol. Products also must contain at least 12% milk solids and 3.39% milk fat.
Companies can get around those rules by using other wording on their packaging. The wrapper for Hershey’s Mr. Goodbar, for example, contains the words “chocolate candy” instead of “milk chocolate.”
Reese said Hershey changed the recipes for multiple Reese’s products in recent years. Reese’s Take5 and Fast Break bars used to be coated with milk chocolate, he said, but now they aren’t. In the early 2000’s, when Hershey released White Reese’s, they were made with white chocolate. Now they’re made with a white creme, he said.
Reese said Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold in Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland are also different than U.S. versions. On Wednesday, a package advertised on the website of British online supermarket Ocado described the candy as “milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut butter crème.”
In a conference call with investors last year, Hershey Chief Financial Officer Steven Voskuil said the company made some changes in its formulas. Voskuil did not say for which products but said Hershey was very careful to maintain the “taste profile and the specialness of our iconic brands.”
“I would say in all the changes that we’ve made thus far, there has been no consumer impact whatsoever. As you can imagine, even on the smallest brand in the portfolio, if we were to make a change, there’s extensive consumer testing,” he said.
But Brad Reese said he often has people tell him that Reese’s products don’t taste as good as they used to. He said Pennsylvania-based Hershey should keep in mind a famous quote from its founder, Milton Hershey: “Give them quality, that’s the best advertising.”
“I absolutely believe in innovation, but my preference is innovation with quality,” Reese said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-hershey/
Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners
The grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has lashed out at The Hershey Co., accusing the candy company of hurting the Reese’s brand by shifting to cheaper ingredients in many products.
Hershey acknowledges some recipe changes but said Wednesday that it was trying to meet consumer demand for innovation. High cocoa prices also have led Hershey and other manufacturers to experiment with using less chocolate in recent years.
Brad Reese, 70, said in a Feb. 14 letter to Hershey’s corporate brand manager that for multiple Reese’s products, the company replaced milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut crème.
“How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote in the letter, which he posted on his LinkedIn profile.
He is the grandson of H.B. Reese, who spent two years at Hershey before forming his own candy company in 1919. H.B. Reese invented Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in 1928; his six sons eventually sold his company to Hershey in 1963.
Hershey said Wednesday that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are made the same way they always have been, with milk chocolate and peanut butter that the company makes itself from roasted peanuts and a few other ingredients, including sugar and salt. But some Reese’s ingredients vary, Hershey said.
“As we’ve grown and expanded the Reese’s product line, we make product recipe adjustments that allow us to make new shapes, sizes and innovations that Reese’s fans have come to love and ask for, while always protecting the essence of what makes Reese’s unique and special: the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter,” the company said.
Brad Reese said he thinks Hershey went too far. He said he recently threw out a bag of Reese’s Mini Hearts, which were a new product released for Valentine’s Day. The packaging notes that the heart-shaped candies are made from “chocolate candy and peanut butter crème,” not milk chocolate and peanut butter.
“It was not edible,” Reese told The Associated Press in an interview. “You have to understand. I used to eat a Reese’s product every day. This is very devastating for me.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict ingredient and labeling requirements for chocolate. To be considered milk chocolate, products must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor, which is a paste made from ground cocoa beans and contains no alcohol. Products also must contain at least 12% milk solids and 3.39% milk fat.
Companies can get around those rules by using other wording on their packaging. The wrapper for Hershey’s Mr. Goodbar, for example, contains the words “chocolate candy” instead of “milk chocolate.”
Reese said Hershey changed the recipes for multiple Reese’s products in recent years. Reese’s Take5 and Fast Break bars used to be coated with milk chocolate, he said, but now they aren’t. In the early 2000’s, when Hershey released White Reese’s, they were made with white chocolate. Now they’re made with a white creme, he said.
Reese said Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups sold in Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland are also different than U.S. versions. On Wednesday, a package advertised on the website of British online supermarket Ocado described the candy as “milk chocolate-flavored coating and peanut butter crème.”
In a conference call with investors last year, Hershey Chief Financial Officer Steven Voskuil said the company made some changes in its formulas. Voskuil did not say for which products but said Hershey was very careful to maintain the “taste profile and the specialness of our iconic brands.”
“I would say in all the changes that we’ve made thus far, there has been no consumer impact whatsoever. As you can imagine, even on the smallest brand in the portfolio, if we were to make a change, there’s extensive consumer testing,” he said.
But Brad Reese said he often has people tell him that Reese’s products don’t taste as good as they used to. He said Pennsylvania-based Hershey should keep in mind a famous quote from its founder, Milton Hershey: “Give them quality, that’s the best advertising.”
“I absolutely believe in innovation, but my preference is innovation with quality,” Reese said.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/reeses-peanut-butter-cups-hershey/
Sports helped shape Rev. Jesse L. Jackson’s career and inspired the ex-quarterback to fight for equal rights
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson stood mesmerized on the baseline, intently watching the Chicago Bulls warm up before an NBA playoff game against the Indiana Pacers.
He was comfortable and at ease in an atmosphere that clearly offered a familiar environment for the civil rights leader.
Jackson, who died on Tuesday at age 84, was an athlete from a young age, and throughout his life he immersed himself in the world of sports — as a player, as a fan and as an advocate. He accepted a football scholarship at Illinois, then transferred to historically Black North Carolina A&T after a year. He was a quarterback on the Aggies team that won a conference title in 1964 and was inducted into A&T’s athletic Hall of Fame 20 years later.
“What is not a well-known fact is that Rev. Jackson, first of all, he was a football player,” said CK Hoffler, Jackson’s attorney for 38 years. “He himself, as a former athlete, understood the plight of athletes.”
While Jackson was in his element at that Bulls-Pacers game back in 2011, he couldn’t just blend in. Standing near professional basketball players, he had a 6-foot-3 presence that loomed largest of all. He even cast a shadow over Bulls star Derrick Rose — the league MVP that season and fellow Chicago icon whom he made the trip to Indianapolis to support.
His sports experiences fueled a deep passion for ensuring that athletes like Rose were given equal opportunities and treatment, regardless of race, gender, sport or native country.
A titan of civil rights: Remembering Rev. Jesse L. Jackson
“He’s always been an advocate of greater inclusion, whether it was fair pay and other things for athletes throughout the country and throughout the world,” Hoffler said. “Athletes from overseas, ensuring that they got a fair shake as well. That was part of what (he) felt was fair. That was part of his social justice.”
Jackson’s advocacy knew no boundaries. At times that meant taking bold, public stands. At others, that meant enduring tough negotiations behind closed doors.
“The Harlem Globetrotters, they had their own cartoon,” Hoffler said. “They did a lot of community building, and they were just iconic in and of themselves. But they had no insurance. They had no benefits. And Rev. Jackson, upon hearing that, took it upon himself to negotiate their benefits.”
Len Elmore, who played 10 seasons in the NBA and is a senior lecturer at Columbia University, said there is a strong connective tissue between Jackson’s sports roots and how it threaded through his advocacy for equality and social justice in all areas of society.
Over the years, Elmore witnessed firsthand how Jackson didn’t shy away from pushing for change at all levels, including in Major League Baseball, the NFL and NBA.
“He certainly had a vision and in trying to achieve that vision he was very forward and aggressive in stating what the world should be like,” said Elmore, who lectures on athlete activism and social justice in sports. “He also was very critical of the timing of some of the actions that didn’t come fast enough or they weren’t capable enough.
“His understanding of the world and what it should be, what it should look like was amazing. And his leadership in trying to get there was something that inspired a lot of us.”
Elmore, who had a sports agency in the early to mid-1990s, said one of his most prized possessions is an award he received from the sports arm of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH organization for its efforts to increase Black sports agent representation.
Jackson also championed minority coaches. Elmore remembers just how much Jackson pushed Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney to adopt what became the NFL’s Rooney Rule in 2003. That rule, aimed at addressing the low number of minority head coaches, originally required every team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least one or more diverse candidates before making a hire.
Jackson, Elmore said, “wanted folks to have a piece of the pie. He wanted that pie to have diverse overtones.”
But Jackson also didn’t shy away from being critical of the Rooney Rule’s lack of effectiveness. After Brian Flores sued the NFL for racial discrimination, Jackson called for tweaks in a 2022 USA Today editorial in which he called the rule a “toothless tiger.”
“You recognize change and the type of change that he envisioned. It wasn’t just a dream, it was active,” Elmore said. “Whether it was either influencing to some extent Harry Edwards in the ’60s, the Rooney Rule, the Nike boycott (demanding more Black employees) in 1990 — he wanted athletes to recognize their platform and the legacy they possess. Not just in the field, but in the boardroom. … That is what Jesse Jackson envisioned and what he was about.”
Hoffler said Jackson loved all sports and identified with the athletes who fought for equality. Though he was a football player, he had a special love for basketball. In recent years, he made appearances at NBA All-Star Weekend to specifically attend the HBCU Classic game showcasing underrepresented college players.
He could be seen on the sideline at basketball games well into his 70s and 80s.
“Even when he was physically not able to walk,” Hoffler said, “he was still at some of those games in a wheelchair. That’s how much he was committed to the plight of athletes.”
AP Sports Writers Maura Carey and Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/jesse-jackson-sports-shaped-career/
Sports helped shape Rev. Jesse L. Jackson’s career and inspired the ex-quarterback to fight for equal rights
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson stood mesmerized on the baseline, intently watching the Chicago Bulls warm up before an NBA playoff game against the Indiana Pacers.
He was comfortable and at ease in an atmosphere that clearly offered a familiar environment for the civil rights leader.
Jackson, who died on Tuesday at age 84, was an athlete from a young age, and throughout his life he immersed himself in the world of sports — as a player, as a fan and as an advocate. He accepted a football scholarship at Illinois, then transferred to historically Black North Carolina A&T after a year. He was a quarterback on the Aggies team that won a conference title in 1964 and was inducted into A&T’s athletic Hall of Fame 20 years later.
“What is not a well-known fact is that Rev. Jackson, first of all, he was a football player,” said CK Hoffler, Jackson’s attorney for 38 years. “He himself, as a former athlete, understood the plight of athletes.”
While Jackson was in his element at that Bulls-Pacers game back in 2011, he couldn’t just blend in. Standing near professional basketball players, he had a 6-foot-3 presence that loomed largest of all. He even cast a shadow over Bulls star Derrick Rose — the league MVP that season and fellow Chicago icon whom he made the trip to Indianapolis to support.
His sports experiences fueled a deep passion for ensuring that athletes like Rose were given equal opportunities and treatment, regardless of race, gender, sport or native country.
A titan of civil rights: Remembering Rev. Jesse L. Jackson
“He’s always been an advocate of greater inclusion, whether it was fair pay and other things for athletes throughout the country and throughout the world,” Hoffler said. “Athletes from overseas, ensuring that they got a fair shake as well. That was part of what (he) felt was fair. That was part of his social justice.”
Jackson’s advocacy knew no boundaries. At times that meant taking bold, public stands. At others, that meant enduring tough negotiations behind closed doors.
“The Harlem Globetrotters, they had their own cartoon,” Hoffler said. “They did a lot of community building, and they were just iconic in and of themselves. But they had no insurance. They had no benefits. And Rev. Jackson, upon hearing that, took it upon himself to negotiate their benefits.”
Len Elmore, who played 10 seasons in the NBA and is a senior lecturer at Columbia University, said there is a strong connective tissue between Jackson’s sports roots and how it threaded through his advocacy for equality and social justice in all areas of society.
Over the years, Elmore witnessed firsthand how Jackson didn’t shy away from pushing for change at all levels, including in Major League Baseball, the NFL and NBA.
“He certainly had a vision and in trying to achieve that vision he was very forward and aggressive in stating what the world should be like,” said Elmore, who lectures on athlete activism and social justice in sports. “He also was very critical of the timing of some of the actions that didn’t come fast enough or they weren’t capable enough.
“His understanding of the world and what it should be, what it should look like was amazing. And his leadership in trying to get there was something that inspired a lot of us.”
Elmore, who had a sports agency in the early to mid-1990s, said one of his most prized possessions is an award he received from the sports arm of Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH organization for its efforts to increase Black sports agent representation.
Jackson also championed minority coaches. Elmore remembers just how much Jackson pushed Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney to adopt what became the NFL’s Rooney Rule in 2003. That rule, aimed at addressing the low number of minority head coaches, originally required every team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least one or more diverse candidates before making a hire.
Jackson, Elmore said, “wanted folks to have a piece of the pie. He wanted that pie to have diverse overtones.”
But Jackson also didn’t shy away from being critical of the Rooney Rule’s lack of effectiveness. After Brian Flores sued the NFL for racial discrimination, Jackson called for tweaks in a 2022 USA Today editorial in which he called the rule a “toothless tiger.”
“You recognize change and the type of change that he envisioned. It wasn’t just a dream, it was active,” Elmore said. “Whether it was either influencing to some extent Harry Edwards in the ’60s, the Rooney Rule, the Nike boycott (demanding more Black employees) in 1990 — he wanted athletes to recognize their platform and the legacy they possess. Not just in the field, but in the boardroom. … That is what Jesse Jackson envisioned and what he was about.”
Hoffler said Jackson loved all sports and identified with the athletes who fought for equality. Though he was a football player, he had a special love for basketball. In recent years, he made appearances at NBA All-Star Weekend to specifically attend the HBCU Classic game showcasing underrepresented college players.
He could be seen on the sideline at basketball games well into his 70s and 80s.
“Even when he was physically not able to walk,” Hoffler said, “he was still at some of those games in a wheelchair. That’s how much he was committed to the plight of athletes.”
AP Sports Writers Maura Carey and Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/jesse-jackson-sports-shaped-career/
