Reebok is updating its Planet Reebok marketing concept with
the introduction of a design and in-store merchandising program
called "Mobius." Rebook's new ad and point-of-purchase tagline
is reportedly "This is my Planet." The Mobius line, which will
include all "performance product categories," will feature a
campaign by Leo Burnett, USA next spring..... Quaker Oats is
"breaking a $15 million pan-European Gatordade sports drink
campaign by TBWA," presenting the drink as a "mainstream youth
brand, rather than an older, sports-players' brand" (AD AGE
ONLINE, 6/12). ....Athlete's Foot is looking to place stores
inside bigger retailers, according to CEO Pierre Serralta. The
chain is looking to join with several department stores and could
open the new outlets in '96 (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/11).... MLB
Properties announced the names of two licensees who will be
manufacturing milk caps and related products bearing the marks
and logos of the 28 teams. Russ Berrie & Co. has developed a MLB
Grand Slammer Milk Cap Game, and A.C. Sales, a new MLB licensee,
has developed different collector packs. The merchandise will
available July 1 (MLB)....ESPN's Keith Olbermann: "Of all the
strange sponsors names ever given to a sporting event, except for
maybe the women's golf tournament named for Jamie Farr, perhaps
this weekend's NASCAR stop is the strangest. The Teamwork 500 is
co-sponsored by General Motors and the United Auto Workers union.
Grievances, they're wonderful" ("SportsCenter," 6/11)....ESPN's
Mike Milbury reported that Nike is donating 200 sets of hockey
equipment to Russia to help that country's underfunded hockey
development programs ("National Hockey Night," 6/10)....Converse
has cut 200 jobs at its Lumberton, NC, plant because of "soft
domestic sales of some canvas footwear and a weak" U.S. retail
market (N.Y. TIMES, 6/12). Converse will also reportedly have a
"major marketing agreement" soon with the Cowboys, as they will
feature Converse-branded Cowboys apparel to arrive in stores in
late fall (AD AGE ONLINE, 6/12)...PepsiCo has begun "preliminary
testing of a carbonated beverage called Josta." The product is
made from the Brazilian guarana berry, has a high caffeine
content, and has "been used for centuries by Amazon tribes as a
stimulant and appetite suppresant. Brazilians also praise the
berry's use as an aphrodisiac, although such qualities have never
been proven" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/12)....Sporting Goods stocks
are examined by Steve Halpern in the MIAMI HERALD. Sporting
goods stocks "have been trailing the pack recently, so buy in now
and you'll be taking a victory lap next year." Among the picks
profiled: Rawlings, Johnson Worldwide, Nike, First Team Sports,
and CML Group (MIAMI HERALD, 6/10).
