On CBS's "Eye to Eye" last night, the feature "Children at
Work" reported on the violation of child labor laws in Pakistan.
One of the most flagrant violations is in the production of
soccer balls sold in the United States.  CBS' Roberta Baskin
reported that about "half the soccer balls in America are made in
Pakistan."  The leather is made in the big cities of Pakistan,
but "the handicraft, the world famous stitching is not done here.
It is done in the surrounding villages and much of that work is
done by the children of Pakistan."  Sublime ships balls to the
U.S. to adidas and Reebok, and the president of Sublime, one of
the largest soccer ball manufacturers in Pakistan, told CBS they
have "not allowed" young children to do the stitching on their
soccer balls.  At the adidas America headquarters in Portland,
OR, CBS spoke to Tom Kain, who manages the U.S. Soccer Division
and said "he didn't believe" that children were used to produce
the balls.  CBS then showed Kain videotape of the young children
stitching adidas balls.  Kain:  "I'm surprised, and concerned,
and I guarantee that the adidas company is not going to sit still
and accept this.  If that situation is improper or not helpful to
those children we will take a look at it."  Reebok responded in a
written statement that "both child labor and bonded labor violate
their human rights policy, and that it has taken immediate action
to cease business with the Sublime factory pending its own
investigation" ("Eye to Eye," CBS, 4/6).
     PRE-SPONSE:  The Soccer Industry Council of America released
a statement prior to the airing of the show accusing CBS of a
"sensationalists approach."  Their response:  1) Neither SICA nor
any member companies were aware such a problem existed;  2) CBS
did not inform SICA or its member companies when the
investigation began in February.  When Reebok was informed on
March 23, they  immediately suspended their relationship with
their Pakistani supplier;  3) SICA is in the process of
developing guidelines covering the supplier relationship;  4)
Both adidas and Reebok are concerned about unfair labor practices
and are committed to investigate the situations raised in the
report.  Neither company tried to hide anything (SICA).

     Fantasy Play By Play offers sports fans the chance to
announce great moments in sports and walk away with a souvenir
videotape of their performance.  The company is presenting a new
interactive ad opportunity for sponsors with a pro sports tie-in.
In addition to signage and logos on all printed materials,
participating sponsors receive a 30-second spot on each souvenir
videotape.  Sponsorships are currently available for Fantasy Play
By Play at SEAFAIR in Seattle, the '96 St. Petersburg Grand Prix,
the U.S. Open Golf Tournament, the new College Football Hall of
Fame and the '96 Atlanta Olympics (Fantasy Play By Play).

     Nike's "Reuse-A-Shoe" program is profiled in this morning's
WALL STREET JOURNAL.  The program has recycled more than one
million used and defective shoes to be used as material to
resurface basketball courts.  Reebok also has a court resurfacing
program, but they do not recycle old shoes using the court's
original material instead.  In Europe, Nike "is aiming to place
its courts -- and its Swoosh logo   -- in high profile spots,
perhaps":  Red Square in Moscow, the Old Town in Prague, the
Czars' Winter Palace in St. Petersburg or in front of the Eiffel
Tower in Paris (Roger Thurow, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/7).
     AGENCY DANCE:  The current issue of ADWEEK chronicles Nike's
efforts to get their primary ad agency, Wieden & Kennedy, to
partner with another agency to handle Nike's overseas accounts.
W&K eventually teamed up with McCann-Erickson to handle Nike's
Japanese and European accounts.  Both W&K and McCann have said
their new arrangement "pertains only to international efforts."
W&K's Dave Luhr "dismissed recent speculation that McCann plans
to take a stake in its new partner or buy W&K outright":  "I've
heard those rumors, too, and they're absolutely not true.  Wieden
& Kennedy remains an incredibly independent agency.  There have
never been any talks along those lines" (Noreen O'Leary, ADWEEK,
4/3 issue).  In other W&K news, the company will open a broadcast
buying unit in New York with about ten employees.  The unit will
be headed by Thomas Winner, now Dir of National Broadcast at the
Busch Media Group, the in-house media unit of Anheuser-Busch
(N.Y. TIMES, 4/7).

     Ryka Inc. is asking L.A. Gear for a short-term loan and is
seeking to renegotiate the terms of the companies' acquisition
agreement.  Ryka said, in a statement, that failure to reach a
revised deal "will result in termination of the merger
agreement."  Under the deal, L.A. Gear would acquire Ryka for
cash and stock valued at $16.4M.  The acquisition was scheduled
to close by this summer.  Ryka said it has exceeded its borrowing
limit with its primary lender, Heller Financial, and it needs a
loan from L.A. Gear.  Ryka's "financial woes come at a critical
time" when athletic-footwear makers begin factory runs for back-
to-school shipments (Joseph Pereira, WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/7).
     TIMBER!  Timberland is featured in today's USA TODAY
"company spotlight."  The piece notes that Timberland's stick has
"slumped more than 13% since Tuesday, when the company announced
that 1st & 2nd quarter earnings would be "significantly below"
expectations (USA TODAY, 4/7).

     Sunglass Hut International signed Super Bowl XXIX MVP Steve
Young to a three-year contract to serve as its spokesperson.
Sunglass Hut is the world's largest sunglass retailer, with more
than 950 stores worldwide.  Young will endorse Sunglass Hut's
exclusive SunGear line, and be featured in upcoming marketing
campaigns for both the store and the brand.  NJ-based Integrated
Sports Int'l will help implement Young's marketing program
(Sunglass Hut).

     The Mets repositioned their outfield yesterday, "dropping
the Marlboro Man to a less visible spot in their Shea Stadium
advertising lineup."  The idea was to reduce the amount of air
time the billboard receives on TV.  More than a year ago, New
York Mayor Rudy Giuliani began pressing for the removal of the
billboard, saying it had a bad influence on children watching
Mets games (N.Y. TIMES, 4/7).  Earlier this week, Madison Square
Garden removed Marlboro signage that was visible during telecasts
of Knicks games in the face of a Federal lawsuit claiming the
sign violated a '70s-era law banning cigarette advertising on TV.