CLARIFICATION: Yesterday's report in THE DAILY on MLS'
corporate sponsorships mischaracterized the league's
relationship with Bic and AT&T. While the two have not yet
renewed deals with the league, negotiations are continuing.
THE DAILY regrets any confusion (THE DAILY).
WCW, with Topp Telecom's Tracfone, will sponsor Team
Sabco's No. 81 NASCAR Busch Grand National Chevrolets driven
by Blaise Alexander this season. WCW's deal will include
"highlighting celebrity wrestlers on the hood" of the car
(SPEEDNET, 1/11)....Audi of America will sponsor a racing
team for the American LeMans series of nine races in North
America (AD AGE, 1/11)....Coca-Cola is expected to replace
its "Always Coca-Cola" tag with "Coca-Cola. enjoy" in its
new ads for Coke Classic. The new spots are scheduled to be
unveiled tomorrow (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 1/11)....PGA Tour
Senior VP/Communications & PR Bob Combs, on the new "Are you
ready?" tag used in the organization's new ad campaign: "The
tagline really has a double meaning. If the players want to
compete this year, they better be ready. And we want the
fans to be ready, too, for exciting golf" (ADWEEK, 1/10).
SO-SO SEASON: In Boston, Greg Gatlin wrote that "some
say reports of [New England] ski area doom and gloom [due to
lack of snowfall] have been exaggerated," as the Holiday
season "was not great, but it wasn't a disaster, either" for
most resorts. But Snow Industry Letter Publisher Bob Gillen
said that if ME-based American Skiing Co. (ASC) "struggles
this year, the effects could ripple through smaller areas."
Gillen: "Small ski areas may find it more difficult to get
money from local banks because they will read in the Wall
Street Journal that ASC did poorly" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/10).
