LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX, MAYBE? ENGLISH LEAGUES GO TO THE EDGE

          In an effort to attract women viewers, both an English
     rugby and cricket league are turning to "sex," according to
     Patrick Harverson of the FINANCIAL TIMES.  This week, the
     Super League launched a new ad campaign featuring pictures
     "of the damp, naked bodies of the rugby league's hunkiest
     stars."  Accompanying the rugby spot is a female fan saying,
     "I like it hard and fast and straight up the middle."  The
     Outspan orange company is launching its sponsorship of the
     Cricket World Cup with "pictures of a shirtless cricketer in
     a state of what appears to be some excitement."  Harverson:
     "It probably has not occurred to the marketing geniuses
     behind these two campaigns that maybe the most effective way
     to sell their sport to women is to stress its entertainment
     value.  As radical as that may seem, women are not
     necessarily going to be turned off by the suggestion they
     may simply enjoy sports for sport's sake" (FT, 2/20).