General Mills' Wheaties is "losing its allure" with top
athletes, as many are "treating the Breakfast of Champions
more like a cold bowl of porridge, demanding more money or
refusing to make personal appearances," as well as forcing
the company to "include additional sponsors in the cover
photos," according to Sam Walker of the WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Walker writes that the cereal is the "casualty of an
inflated sports economy," as General Mills offers athletes
"far less than industry norms." Lanktree Sports President
Nova Lanktree: "Because there's a status attached to
Wheaties, the company has bought and retained talent at a
fraction of what other advertisers have paid." Wheaties'
market share of 12% a "few decades ago" has also declined to
about 1%. Meanwhile, Kellogg has "stepped up its sports-
marketing efforts, signing potential" Wheaties endorsers
such as Jeff Gordon, Grant Hill and Sheryl Swoopes.
WILLING TO DEAL: As a "result" of what General Mills
spokesperson Greg Zimprich calls a changing "sports-
marketing landscape," the company has made a "series of
concessions to athletes." Tiger Woods "initially turned
down a chance" to appear on a box, but then "demanded" that
the company pay him more money than it paid Michael Jordan,
"promote his charitable foundation" on the box, "sponsor a
promotion" for Titleist golf balls and "use pictures of him
displaying" Nike clothing and a Rolex watch. The company
"acceded" to all of Woods' demands, but the golfer agreed to
the deal "mainly because his father considered it an honor."
Ken Griffey Jr. "talked General Mills into a rare" eight-
year, $1M contract, but that fee was "so low compared" to
his other endorsements that the company "agreed to limit his
personal appearances" to about four hours per year. Walker
writes that Olympians are the "one group of athletes who
treat Wheaties with deference" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/17).
MORE MUNCHIES: In N.Y., Mitchell Fink reports that Cubs
RF Sammy Sosa signed a deal with Famous Fixins to develop a
new "Slammin' Sammy's" cereal (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/17).
