Cal Ripken is attracting "new attention from advertisers" as
he closes in on Lou Gehrig's consecutive-games record, according
to Jon Morgan of the Baltimore SUN. Ripken reportedly has a deal
with Wheaties, where he will appear on boxes this summer. Morgan
writes, "Although Mr. Ripken has much of what companies want in a
spokesman, from blue eyes to a wholesome image, his commercial
appeal is limited by baseball's anemic popularity and his own
lack of sizzle." Marty Blackman, VP of New York-based athlete
management service Blackman & Raber: "Certainly he's going to do
very well. But the expectation of the public that, whammo, as
soon as he breaks the record he'll be everywhere isn't so.
Ripken will get his money from Madison Avenue, but it will be
over the years." According to Ira Rainess of the Tufton Group, a
marketing group formed by Ripken's agent, Ron Shapiro, to handle
Ripken's endorsement business, Ripken is "selective about the
endorsements he accepts, preferring long-term relationships and
products consistent with his tastes and family-man image"
(Baltimore SUN, 6/20).
