Customers "mobbed" New York City shoe stores this
weekend as the new black Air Jordan XIII model was released
for the first time on a nonschool day, according to Bill
Hutchinson of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Michael Jordan "plans to
don the pricey sneakers," which were priced at $149.99 plus
tax, during the upcoming NBA playoffs. Nike spokesperson
Vada Manager said that the weekend launch "did not hurt
sales." Manager: "Across the Midwest we heard from stores
that sold out in 90 minutes" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/30).
SHOES THEY CAN'T USE: Nike said that an e-mail
"promising a free pair of Nike shoes in exchange for old ones
is a hoax," according to Lauren Dodge of the AP. Since the
e-mail "began making the rounds last month," Nike has
received "hundreds of pairs of worn-out shoes." The chain e-
mail with the headline "FREE NIKE SHOES!!!" says the company
makes fields and playgrounds for underprivileged children
from the old sneakers (AP/CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/28).
THE BIG ONE: In N.Y., Rush & Molloy write that Michael
Moore's film, "The Big One," could "become a public-relations
debacle" for Nike Chair Phil Knight. Following a screening
of the film to inner city high school students last Saturday,
"almost two dozen kids walked over to Niketown and held a
spontaneous protest outside" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/30).
FOR PETE'S SAKE: ATP Tour player Jeff Tarango said that
Pete Sampras' recent slump may be due to Nike's recent TV
spot citing Sampras' chase of Roy Emerson's Grand Slam title
record. Sampras is two titles shy of Emerson's record of 12.
Tarango: "I think Nike pushed him to make some comments that
he probably shouldn't have made" (L.A. TIMES, 3/29).
SWEET MUSIC: The Verve's Richard Ashcroft, whose
"Bittersweet Symphony" is used in a Nike ad, said the "last
thing in the world I wanted was for one of my songs to be
used in a commercial. ... But it could have been worse. If
we didn't fight for the song, 'Symphony' would have ended up
in a cheeseburger ad and no one could ever have taken our
record seriously again." Ashcroft: "With Nike, we had a
chance of having something tasteful. The alternative wasn't
very attractive." In L.A., Robert Hilburn wrote that since
the spot debuted in January, the Verve's album has gone from
No. 63 on the U.S. charts into the top 30 (L.A. TIMES, 3/29).
