London Irish Star In

House of Fraser and Howick, one of the department store’s own casual and formal menswear brands, has recruited the London Irish rugby team to help launch “Man’s Wear” as part of a new sponsorship deal between the pair.

Howick becomes an official sponsor of the club and continue to be the clothing supplier for post-match suiting for players and management.

Following a successful partnership with London Irish in 2013/14 as formalwear provider, Howick has extended its agreement to become an official sponsor for the 2014/15 season.

The new partnership will see the Howick logo appear on the back of the London Irish first team playing jersey for all Aviva Premiership, LV=Cup and European matches, in addition to branding at the stadium.

From early September, a series of giant posters featuring Howick’s “Man’s Wear” campaign will appear in selected locations to target rugby fans, including London Irish’s home stadium.

As part of the deal, the new advertising campaign will feature photographs of battered and bruised players including four of the Aviva Premiership Rugby club’s first team Topsy Ojo, Blair Cowan, Andrew Fenby and Shane Geraghty.

House of Fraser has hired advertising agency BMB to help drive brand awareness for Howick and capitalise on the popularity of rugby amongst its core audience through the campaign.

Tony Holdway, director of brand at House of Fraser said: ‘The Howick brand takes heavy inspiration from rugby and with a fantastic new collection we felt that a new and refreshing campaign would give it the recognition it deserves.’

‘We’re keen to convey a message that resonates with the Howick target audience but also represents House of Fraser’s commitment to supporting the sport throughout the UK and Ireland. Our insight has shown that many of our Howick customers are rugby fans who are searching for authenticity, rather than a brand that promotes a pampered and Photoshopped perception of the modern man.’

Exiles’ commercial director Jim O’Toole added: ‘It is very exciting to have a brand of the stature of Howick extend its partnership with London Irish. Our players and management are looking forward to wearing their new suits. The partnership has also yielded exciting results with the launch of a new high profile advertising campaign using London Irish players. We look forward to developing further activation campaigns together.‘