In an effort to close its widening budget gap, Arlington County leaders agreed to terms over the weekend with Bayer Corp. to sell the naming rights to the Clarendon neighborhood in Arlington. The financial terms have not been disclosed.
The area will now be known as “Claritin,” as in the popular Claritin family of products that offer powerful, non-drowsy allergy relief of runny, itchy noses; sneezing; watery eyes; and itchy throats. Clarendon Boulevard, one of the main thoroughfares in the county, will be rebranded “Claritin Boulevard.”
Speaking on background, a high-level official with Arlington Economic Development (who was not cleared to speak publicly on the matter) shared that “AED promised the community out-of-the-box thinking when addressing the revenue shortfall caused by commercial vacancy rates. Selling the naming rights to a neighborhood, especially a prominent one like Clarendon—sorry I mean ‘Claritin’—is a creative solution we can all be proud of.”
Bayer spokesperson JS Bach chimed in with the company’s perspective. “For decades, businesses have been signing long-term deals for stadium naming rights to help brand themselves and their products and services, but to our knowledge, no one has ever worked with a local government to purchase the naming rights to a community. We believe that the newly re-named ‘Claritin’ (the neighborhood) delivers a desirable demographic and it is also a popular entertainment hub next door to the most powerful, influential city in the world. This move will further cement ‘Claritin’ (the family of medications) as the leading products for allergy relief in America.”
#AprilFools