The NHL "has failed" to portray its players as
"personable and human," according to Sherry Ross of the N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, who wrote under the header, "League is Missing
Promotional Boat." Ross credited Norelco for its ad
campaign around the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, calling the
spots the "most amusing sports-themed advertisements on
television." But Ross wrote that although Madison Avenue
"is mere blocks away" from the NHL headquarters, "only in
Canada [do hockey players] ... frequently come into your
home in 60-second mini movies." Ross: "Even though Wayne
Gretzky tested second only to [Michael] Jordan in a recent
poll of marketable athletes, currently Gretzky isn't
represented in a single national U.S. ad campaign. Nor does
hockey sell itself well. The NHL has cowered while the NBA
sorts its problems out, instead of coming up with some
puckish ads that could push the personality of its players
while tweaking the basketball void." Ross added that NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman could be "too concerned with
angering his old pal David Stern, but the right commercials
in the right hands would intrigue and amuse, not offend."
But Ross concluded, "With two months wasted, it might
already be too late" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/29).
WAYNE GOES ONE-ON-ONE: Rangers C Wayne Gretzky appeared
on "Late Night" with Conan O'Brien, and called the NBA
lockout a "great thing for hockey. We're getting more
exposure and I think people are getting a chance to meet
some of the players who haven't had a chance to get as much
exposure as other athletes in other sports. But eventually
basketball will get back. ... But right now is a good
chance for the NHL to take advantage of it. We have good
people who run our league" ("Late Night," NBC, 11/27).
