NAMES & FACES: SPORT magazine lists the century's "Top
5 Athlete Appearances" in TV ads: Mean Joe Greene for Coca-
Cola; Tiger Woods (and golf ball) for Nike Golf; Joe Namath
for L'eggs panty hose; Bo Jackson in "Bo Knows" for Nike;
and Michael Jordan and Spike Lee for Nike (SPORT, 12/99).
...SMI President Humpy Wheeler said that the Winston Cup is
not "out of the question" for NASCAR ARCA series driver
Shawna Robinson, "should a multirace deal be completed" with
car owner Michael Kranefuss. Wheeler: "If Shawna could run
in the top ten [in Winston Cup events], she would have the
largest sponsorship potential our sport has ever seen."
Robinson added Betty Crocker "does a lot with the wives of
drivers, but no one has stepped forward to take a chance on
a woman in a car" (AP, 11/11)....Putter-manufacturer Never
Compromise is "reportedly planning a new" TV ad featuring
Jean Van de Velde, in which the golfer will be shown
replaying the 18th hole at this year's British Open, with
"one notable change in strategy: He hits every shot with his
putter" (GOLF WORLD, 11/12 issue)....Detroit area retailer
Frank Mrowczynski, noting the Lions' 6-2 record: "We're
definitely not selling any Barry Sanders jerseys. Does
anybody care anymore?" Retailers say that the "most
popular" Lions jersey is QB Charlie Batch (AP, 11/11).
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE DOT.COMS: USA TODAY's Greg
Farrell writes that the "flood of dot-com ad money into the
media marketplace is creating a problem: dot-com clutter."
Dot-com companies spent $399M in TV ad spending for the
first half of '99. The companies spent $324M all of last
year (USA TODAY, 11/11)....But in N.Y., Suein Hwang writes,
"It's a backlash time for Internet-company marketing, as a
growing fringe of Web companies drop the 'dot-com' from
their names, acquire some trappings of nonvirtual business,
and otherwise disassociate themselves from the online
rabble" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/11).
DEALS & DOLLARS: Turner Broadcasting will continue its
"rotating sponsor program," which features several of the
network's programs, with the Galaxy Motorsports-owned No. 75
Winston Cup Ford to be driven by Wally Dallenbach. Turner
has sponsored the No. 9 Ford owned by Melling Racing
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/11)....In Cleveland, Bill Lubinger
examined advertisements on team uniforms and noted that the
NPSL Crunch is in the second year of a three-year deal with
Dairy Mart Convenience Stores worth about $500,000 a year
which puts its name and logo on the players' socks, shirts
and shorts (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 11/10).
