USA TODAY reviews '97's best and worst ads, with Nike
tied for the year's best spots with HBO, Miller Lite and
Volkswagon. USA TODAY's Enrico & Wells write Nike and its
ad agencies "redeemed themselves" from last year's ads
showcasing vomiting athletes "with a series of soaring
Michael Jordan ads and a skateboarding ad campaign that
oozed attitude instead of bodily fluids." In addition,
Nike's Tiger Woods spots were chosen as the fifth most-
popular spots under USA TODAY's Ad Track (USA TODAY, 12/15).
SHOE NEWS: Some Broncos players who endorse Reebok will
be wearing new, predominantly orange cleats for tonight's
"MNF" game against the 49ers (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 12/14).
...Cowboys QB Troy Aikman, who parted ways with adidas in
October, is now wearing Nike footwear but has not signed a
footwear contract (Portland OREGONIAN, 12/11).
NOTES: In Chicago, Jim Kirk examined event marketing,
and wrote that event sponsorships are now the "fastest-
growing form of marketing in the U.S., growing more than
five times in the last decade, from roughly" $1B in '86 to
$5.4B in '96 (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/14)....A new mural on
the First Union building in uptown Charlotte features the
Hornets' Glen Rice, Anthony Mason and Vlade Divac (Hornets).
