Hershey next month "steps up its sports marketing
commitments with a multi-brand promotion" linked to the NCAA
Final Four.  On March 12, Hershey, a new NCAA corporate partner,
will unveil a Final Four-themed campaign with special offers on
all Hershey loose candy bars.  Support for the campaign will
include in-store promo materials giving consumers a chance for a
trip to the '96 Final Four.  Other giveaways include Final Four
logoed basketballs and jackets.  Pro-Serv created the promotion
for Hershey (Pam Weisz, BRANDWEEK, 2/20).

     Fresh off their Sharky Chardonnay, the Sharks have teamed
with PepsiCo to "blanket" Northern CA with a limited edition of a
Pepsi long-neck bottle to commemorate the '93-94 season (BOSTON
GLOBE, 2/19)....The Adolph Coors Co. had a net income of $58.1M
in '94, a "sweeping turnaround" from last year's $41.9M loss
(ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 2/18).... PGA Tour players Jim McGovern and
Gene Sauers and Nike Tour player Greg Bruckner have all agreed to
play with Cobra clubs (Cobra)....GOLF WORLD reports the PGA
Senior Tour is preparing to allow advertising to be displayed on
the golf carts used by players during TV events (Phil Mushnick,
N.Y. POST, 2/20)....A "Dutch Boy In The Paint" print ad promoting
its Healthy Families America program and TNT's Sixers-Nuggets
this Thursday, features a picture of injured Nugget LaPhonso
Ellis, who has not played all year (USA TODAY, 2/21)....Grant
Hill was named a "Hot Face '95" on a special edition of
Entertainment Tonight.  ET followed Hill during All-Star Weekend.
John Tesh asked if Hill's career is a slam dunk.  Hill: "This is
all like a dream come true" ("Entertainment This Week," 2/19).

     The WTA Tour's decision to turn down Tampax's offer to be
title sponsor, which WTA Tour CEO Anne Person Worcester "had
considered a safe business decision, albeit a distinctly
nonfeminist message about just how unenlightened the marketplace
remains, appears to have backfired," writes Robin Finn in the
N.Y. TIMES.  One "unhappy tour executive": "Now we're hearing
that women are planning to boycott our tournaments because
they're ticked off that we walked away from the Tampax deal."  As
Finn writes, "Perhaps that will hurt worse than any comedians'
one-liners and male hecklers combined."  Worcester insists the
rejection of Tampax was "grounded in economic reality, not
backward thinking":  "Our research told us we unfortunately would
not be able to do that had we accepted this sponsor.  We're a
conservative sport with a high-profile sponsorship, and we've got
to represent ourselves in 22 countries, not just this one."
According to Tambrands spokesperson Bruce Garren, the
negotiations were "preliminary at best" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/18).
     MARTINA CLARIFIES HER POSITION:  Martina Navratilova, WTA
Tour Players Association President: "I have mixed emotions about
all of this.  On the one hand, you'd like to take a strong stand
for a product whose integrity is unquestioned, not to mention
that, unlike tobacco, it's a product we actually use.  But event
in the best of times, accepting and promoting this sponsorship
would be iffy, and these are not the best of times."  Navratilova
said she was convinced that the presence of Tampax would have an
"adverse impact on local event sponsorships," from which the Tour
derives its $35M in yearly prize money.  But according to
Advantage Int'l, who brought the Tampax offer to the table,
Navratilova's opinion was a "perfect example of the negative spin
placed on the prospective deal by its competing agency," IMG.
Advantage Int'l Exec VP Harlan Stone: "Anybody who talked to us
last felt the deal was a positive step, and anybody who talked to
IMG last felt just the opposite.  Martina had told us in November
that she felt good about the deal; she said she didn't eat
cheese, she didn't smoke, and she didn't drink soda, but finally,
with Tampax, the tour had a sponsor whose product actually helped
players perform 365 days a year" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/18).  Michael
Heistand gives the WTA's decision to nix Tampax a thumbs down:
"How can something so pedestrian become dangerously exotic?" (USA
TODAY, 2/21).  And KNIGHT-RIDDER's Meri-Jo Borzilleri thinks the
tour should have taken Tampax's offer, noting the company was
making a "title-less title sponsor offer": "The tour shouldn't
let snickers and puerile comments, which will grow tiresome after
a while, drive a decision like this" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS,
2/21).

     On the heels of this weekend's Daytona 500, NASCAR made two
more sponsorship announcements.  Kelloggs agreed to a 3-year
marketing program under which, the 40-plus cereal brands produced
by Kellogg USA will become "Official Cereals of NASCAR."  Four of
those brands -- Corn Flakes, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Frosted Flakes
and Raisin Bran -- already sponsor Winston Cup cars.  Kellogg's
Pop Tarts will become NASCAR's "Official Toaster Pastry";
Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars becomes the "Official Cereal
Bar"; and Kellogg's Eggo Waffles becomes the "Official Frozen
Waffles."  Kellogg VP/Marketing Cynthia Rodman said the deal will
allow them "to implement marketing programs for an expanded list
of our products to a broader range of consumers."  In addition,
RCA announced it will expand its involvement with NASCAR by
offering a new award in the Winston Cup Series.  The "RCA Pit
Strategy Award" will be presented in each of the 31 Winston Cup
events held during the '95 season.  In addition, RCA will present
$50,000 to the NASCAR Winston Cup team that wins the most RCA Pit
Strategy Awards (NASCAR).

     Nike Inc. has ended its relationships with both Bo Jackson
and Dennis Hopper amid reports the company is moving away from
celebrity-based advertising and returning to an emphasis on
sports and fitness.  Nike VP/Commun. Keith Peters: "Nike is
currently refreshing its 'Just Do It' message with a series of
ads that feature celebrity athletes and everyday people."  But
Peters said that does not mean the company is abandoning
celebrities altogether.  The company will soon release a series
of Spike Lee-produced spots featuring Michael Jordan's minor
league baseball exploits (AP/SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/21).  Nike
Dir of Advertising Joe McCarthy:  "We tried to be entertaining
and controversial and lost sight of what Nike is" (USA TODAY,
2/20).  In Today's OREGONIAN, Peters "took issue" with reports
that Nike is abandoning celebrtity ads altogther:  "We work with
a lot of athletes.  To say that we're conciously choosing to work
with fewer is a bit misleading" (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/21).  Last
night's "Entertainment Tonight" reported the news of Jackson and
Hopper being dropped.  ET's Mary Hart reports that Jackson earned
nearly $3M in his 8-year run with Nike, while Hopper made $1M.
USA TODAY advertising reporter Melanie Wells:  "One question in
using celebrities is, does it really help the products, or does
it promote the celebrities?"  Hart reports some industry insiders
speculate Nike is changing its lineup to appear different than
rival Reebok, which has Shaquille O'Neal as its primary endorser
("ET," 2/20).
     NIKE INTEGRATES AD STRATEGIES:  Nike said it is reviewing
its U.S. media planning and buying functions, and may consolidate
the two this spring.  Currently Wieden & Kennedy handles planning
and SFM Media handles buying.  Last week, McCarthy addressed
Wieden staffers to confirm Nike's support for the agency
(ADVERTISING AGE, 2/20 issue).  Meanwhile, W&K and McCann
Erickson released details of their worldwide alliance to develop
a "broader global marriage" for the Nike account (BRANDWEEK, 2/20
issue).
     FITNESS FIRST, OR BRAND AWARENESS?  Reebok will open Reebok
Sports Club/NY on April 1.  It is a $55M fitness complex that may
"raise the bar on retail-level brand interactivity in the
sporting goods business," according to Eric Hollreiser in
BRANDWEEK.  Reebok will not say if it is launching a chain of
fitness clubs, "but the fitness club-cum product testing ground
fits its strategy" (BRANDWEEK, 2/20 issue).  BUSINESS WEEK
profiles the rise of manufacturers opening their own flagship
retail stores.  Mary Kuntz explains the rise of the specialty
stores, such as Niketown: "The consolidation of department store
chains has left manufacturers with fewer stores to sell to.  And
profit-starved retailers have been pushing their own competing
private-label brands" (BUSINESS WEEK, 2/27 issue).

     While Texaco will again sponsor fan ballots for the MLB All-
Star Game, the company will not actively participate in pushing
the vote.  Last year, Texaco used its service stations as an
outlet for fans to vote.  This year, fan voting will strictly be
conducted in the ballparks.  AP's Skip Wollenberg writes, "Texaco
faces a dilemma shared by dozens of companies that rely on major
league baseball games as a way to advertise their products and
services."  Companies like Texaco, a charter sponsor of The
Baseball Network, have a while before deciding on their strategy,
because the first TBN broadcast is not until the All-Star Game.
But other advertisers must decide more quickly.  ESPN Exec VP Ed
Durso, whose network carries its first game April 2:  "I'd be
less than candid to say demand was as robust as we had hoped it
would be.  Some are directing their money elsewhere, but we
continue to press ahead under what is a more difficult
situation."  But Tribune Broadcasting Exec VP Dennis FitzSimons
said, "We have been pleasantly surprised by the willingness of
our sponsors to stay with us."  The Tribune Co. also owns the
Cubs (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/20).