Venus and Serena Williams "figure to make a quantum
leap in their endorsement opportunities very shortly,"
according to Edward Moran of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS,
who writes that "now that [the sisters] are adults," many of
the companies that are "attracted to tennis players" will be
"hoping to sign them." Previously, some marketers felt the
sisters were "too young to represent" certain companies, but
Burns Sports President Bob Williams said the Williams
sisters "have the potential to market a wide variety of
services and products. If they continue going at this pace
and win a major here and there, they will have a lot of
opportunities to chose from. The question is what they will
do, will they be open to deals? Up until now they have been
very selective. Now that they have both won major
championships, marketers will be coming at them with
individual opportunities and opportunities to work
together." The Bonham Group Dir of Creative Services Don
Hinchey: "This is a very attractive story line, one that
shows that hard work channeled in the right direction can
pay off. The opportunities for them are endless." Moran
writes "another possible turnoff for companies in the past"
could have been the girls' father, Richard. But Hinchey
said, "No matter how you feel about Richard Williams, you
have to admire the fact that he has two daughters who have
appeared in the finals at Wimbledon" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY
NEWS, 7/11). But CNNSI.com's Jon Wertheim wrote that
Richard Williams is "well on his way to becoming tennis'
answer to Dennis Rodman" (CNNSI./com, 7/10).
A MAJOR JUMP START: In St. Paul, Bob Sansevere calls
the Williams sisters "young, attractive, charismatic. ...
The success of a couple of African-American sisters could
help the sport's popularity return to the peak levels it
reached in the early 1970s" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/11).
NEW CAMPAIGN: In Chicago, Elliott Harris reports that
the "Got Milk?" campaign has "updated the text" of the ad
featuring the Williams sisters (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/11).
The ad now reads, "Make ours doubles. What's the best way
to toast my sister's victory? With Milk" (THE DAILY).
