Chevrolet "is trying to put together a dream team" by
adding Sammy Sosa to its "all-star crew," which already
features Michael Jordan, according to Mike Kiley of the
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Integrated Marketing Solutions President
Mark Leonard, who handles Sosa's marketing, said he hasn't
talked to Chevrolet about a specific Sosa-Jordan ad, but
said that after a recent Jordan-Muhammad Ali spot, "I would
think they might consider it." Chevrolet declined comment.
Leonard said that after the season, Sosa "could sign" deals
with McDonald's, MasterCard, Pepsi, Chevrolet and a consumer
product company "he refused to name" (SUN-TIMES, 9/22).
BLOOMBERG's Jerry Crasnick writes that Sosa is "on the verge
of going where no Latin-American baseball player has gone
before -- to the land of endorsement heavy hitters." Burns
Sports President Bob Williams: "Sosa has an opportunity to
be a trailblazer for Latino athletes. ... It would be very
similar to what Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and others have
done for African-American athletes." Rick Burton, Exec Dir
of Univ. of OR's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center: "This guy
is a stud. He's the real deal, and you don't need to
explain that to people in Iowa" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/22).
THE CHASE: CBS's Dan Rather closed Friday's "Evening
News" by saying that Sosa and Mark McGwire have given MLB
and "America just what we needed. Let the record show that
at the end of a long and agonizing summer, a summer of
scandal and despair, they gave us joy" (CBS, 9/18).
THE CAL OF THE WILD: USA TODAY's Bruce Horovitz reports
that Cal Ripken, MLB's "highest-paid pitchman" at about $10M
per year, "is seeing a burst of interest from licensees
eager to cash-in on" the end of his consecutive games played
streak. Chevy Trucks, which has featured Ripken in ads for
seven years, "expects to air" a new Ripken spot during the
World Series, while Starter also is "trying to extend
Ripken's contract" (USA TODAY, 9/22). In Baltimore, Jon
Morgan reports that the end of the streak "may rekindle
interest" in Ripken among corporate sponsors. Stephen
Disson, President of DC-based D&F Consulting, said that in a
summer when the HR chase has "piqued" the interest of
corporate sponsors, Ripken "will be in a good position to
stand in since he too is a bona fide baseball hero."
Disson: "Cal will be a nice alternative" (Balt. SUN, 9/22).
