Management Plus' Leonard Armato, agent for Shaquille
O'Neal, described a published report that Reebok might be
dropping O'Neal as, "funny, considering he's one of the most
well-known icons in the world," according to Greg Johnson of
the L.A. TIMES. Reebok Dir of PR Dave Fogelson "maintained
that O'Neal is a 'very important' element" in Reebok's
future advertising and marketing." CA-based Taco Bell
"stopped using" O'Neal in its spots earlier this year, and
he "won't appear" in Reebok TV ads slated to run early in
'98. Johnson: "O'Neal's temporary absence from the two
high-profile TV campaigns underscores how companies ... that
foot the bill for lucrative endorsement contracts are trying
to make more effective -- and, they hope, cost-effective --
use of highly paid pitchmen and women." Reebok's Fogelson
"tied O'Neal's on-air absence for the first half of 1998 to
the fact that Reebok products will be pitched on TV by other
basketball stars, including Allen Iverson and Shawn Kemp --
along with WNBA and ABL stars," but Fogelson said that
O'Neal will appear in print ads (L.A. TIMES, 12/18).
