HIGH-TAIL IT FOOTBALL FANS EMBRACE GRUB.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

As fans of college football pack into stadiums, more retailers are spiking their products in the parking lots outside for a touchdown.

Tailgating - the unique American sideshow of grilling meat in a parking lot - is gaining more advertising ground with every football season.

``It's a big cultural phenomenon that just keeps growing,'' said John Faulkner, spokesman for Campbell's Soup.

Fervent fans of college and professional football have long been prime targets in the cross hairs of beer and snack-food companies, but retailers are just now zeroing in on the colorful tribe of Americans known as tailgaters.

One in six Americans over the age of 18 have tailgated in the past year, according to a survey by Weber-Stephen Products, the company that makes Weber grills. And their ranks are swelling as tailgating gets easier with the arrivals of user-friendly gas grills, said Christina Schroeder, spokeswoman for Weber. Last year, Weber saw sales of its portable grills increase 22 percent. For the first time in Campbell's seven-year partnership with the NFL, the company turned the cameras on tailgaters in a TV ad this season.

``We figure the core target is a chili-eating type of guy,'' Faulkner said. ``Chili is such a natural component of the tailgating imagery.''

As soon as the ads started running, Faulkner said sales starting heating up and are now outpacing projections by about 20 percent.

``The spot really resonates with our core consumers,'' he said.

The average tailgater spends $576 on food and beverages for tailgating parties each year; 18 percent spend more than $1,000, according to the Weber study.

Tailgating is a big sport at both the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles. ``Fans are out two, three hours before a game,'' said Bryan DeSena, a sports information assistant at UCLA.

Pepsi, another longtime NFL partner, is continuing a TV spot celebrating tailgaters that started last year.

``We changed the campaign to focus on the idea that Pepsi goes well with food,'' said Pepsi spokesman Dave DeCecco.

Being a part of that passionate tailgating scene can do wonders for a brand, DeCecco said.

``The idea is to go after people while they're enjoying some other passion in their life,'' said Cory Bouck, senior brand manager for Johnsonville bratwurst. ``For a lot of people, the way they experience those passions is tailgating.''

Since tailgating is full of rituals and superstitions, Bouck said it's beneficial to have the product be a part of the scene. That's why Johnsonville Brats started its TV ads targeting tailgaters last summer.

These companies are banking on the hope that capturing tailgaters' snacking preferences will extend beyond beyond football season to other events like Memorial Day, Labor Day, or that other great American pastime - watching TV.

That's the activity that sends a stampede of sports fans to the deli counters at Ralphs to ransack party platters of buffalo wings, cheeses and vegetables, said spokesman Terry O'Neill. ``We've seen a big increase (in sales) of the mini-trays we think people are bringing to small gatherings at their homes (for sporting events),'' he said.

Topping the list of foods grilled by tailgaters are burgers, hot dogs and brats, but more people are grilling a wider variety of foods like corn on the cob, shish kebabs, chops and fish, according to the Weber study.

``You see some incredible spreads out there,'' Faulkner said.

That's the another quirk of tailgating culture - earning bragging rights for having the best dish in the lot. ``People think you're a hero if you serve something everyone loves,'' Bouck said. ``You'll see people with high-end sirloin steaks and champagne and other people with Hibachi grills.''

This is what's driving Johnsonville to present its brats as a sophisticated alternative to hot dogs and hamburgers. Likewise, Bouck said he's noticed Jack Daniels is trying to break through the idea that beer is the drink of choice at tailgating parties.

Nevertheless, beer remains the beverage of choice for tailgating among 71 percent of those surveyed by Weber.

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Gretchen Francisco, top, enjoys some chips and salsa before the Oct. 30 UCLA-Stanford football game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as Matt Esqueda, above, grills some carne asada.

(3) Tailgaters turn pre-game munchies into an art before kickoff of the UCLA-Stanford football game Oct. 30 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer