The Screen Actors Guild's (SAG) strike is "forcing some
hard decisions on high-profile Olympic athletes set to
appear in ads," according to Friedman & Linnett of AD AGE,
who note that "at least three" U.S. Olympians -- Lance
Armstrong, Mia Hamm and Michael Johnson are "scheduled to
appear" in Nike ads. Armstrong, who is also "slated to film
spots" for Bristol-Myers Squibb and WEbMD, "likely will
alter his plans" should the strike continue through the
summer, as his agent, Bill Stapleton, said that Armstrong
"definitely won't break ranks with the union." But some
sports marketing execs say that "several" pro athletes,
including Hal Sutton and Ernie Els, "as well as a handful"
of NASCAR drivers, are "believed to have broken ranks" with
the SAG by filming ads (AD AGE, 5/29 issue). The
SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Liz Mullen reports that Mets C Mike
Piazza has been "unable to shoot" an ad for Claritin because
of the SAG strike (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/29 issue).
3 . A DEAL WITH STAYING POWER? VIAGRA ON WITH MARK MARTIN
Pfizer/Viagra "will be the primary sponsor" of the
Roush Racing-owned No. 6 Winston Cup Ford driven by Mark
Martin next year, according to Michael Carvell of the
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. The deal is "reportedly worth" $60M
over five years. Roush Racing President Geoff Smith said
Valvoline, Martin's current sponsor, is "more likely to be
an associate sponsor" next year (ATL. CONSTITUTION, 5/31).
MBNA IN? In NC, Mike Mulhern reported that MBNA execs
are "aggressively pushing to return" to the Winston Cup as a
"major" team sponsor next year, and NASCAR execs "might want
to place that lucrative sponsorship on" Dale Earnhardt's
operation. But sources say that a "potential downside" to
an MBNA sponsorship is that "company officials tend to get
too involved in the racing side" (W-S JOURNAL, 5/30).
BUD GOES WELL WITH MILK: In Indianapolis, Curt Cavin
wrote that A-B "certainly was the difference-maker" in Chip
Ganassi's return to the Indianapolis 500. Ganassi's
Budweiser-sponsored car with driver Juan Montoya won
Sunday's race, and A-B Group Dir of Sports Marketing Steve
Uline "didn't argue with a report" that the company's $3.5M
deal for this year's Indy 500 "doubled if Ganassi's teams
finished in the top three" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 5/30).
