NASCAR: Driver Rick Mast, on Universal Studios becoming
primary sponsor of his Cale Yarborough-owned Ford (See THE
DAILY, 6/14): "It just couldn't come at a better time. I
mean, it's pretty unheard of for this time of year, and this
part of the season, for a major corporation to come on board
for a race car as a racing sponsor." Mast wore a Woody
Woodpecker hat and shirt ("RPM 2Night," ESPN2, 6/15)....Jeff
Gordon and his wife, Brooke, "spent six hours" in Orlando in
January shooting a TV spot for "Fritos Chili and Scoops."
The product is available in the Southeast and will be rolled
out nationally next year (NASCAR WINSTON CUP ILLUSTRATED,
7/99 issue)....CBS Senior VP/Marketing Keith Ritter, whose
net is partnering with NASCAR to present "NASCAR Rocks," a
summer concert tour featuring the Allman Brothers, on the
band's appeal to young fans: "To kids today, the Allman
Brothers are like the Grateful Dead -- there's a lot of
interest in those groups from the 1970s" (AD AGE, 6/14).
NOTES: Philips has signed on as a sponsor of the UEFA
European soccer championship for 2000, which will be held in
Belgium and Holland. The company gets the rights to
advertise "around all the live TV broadcasts" of the
tournament's matches, as well as use of the event's logo in
ads and promos (AD AGE, 6/14)....As part of an $8M marketing
effort, CA-based Fogdog Sports launched a series of TV spots
this week from S.F.-based OWN&P, which will feature the
theme "Your anytime, anywhere sports store" (Fogdog).
....MasterCard is "seeking at least" $15M in damages in a
lawsuit filed in federal court in NY, alleging that HBO "has
ripped off" MasterCard's "Priceless" ad campaign. HBO
"spoofed" the spot in an ad for "Arli$$," which puts prices
on things such as "signing No. 1 draft pick" and negotiating
shoe contracts, and then says, "Having no scruples:
priceless." The tag: "There are some men money can't buy.
Arliss isn't one of them" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/16).
