The ATP Tour's effort to "celebritize" its "next
generation of top 10 players with a splashy" new ad campaign
(see THE DAILY, 7/31), "fittingly headlined 'New balls
please,'" has "already ... generated buzz," according to
Diane Seo of Salon.com. While the slogan "may be a tad
sensational, ... hundreds of fans" at the Tennis Masters
Series-Canada last week "lined up for autographs" from some
of the players featured, who were "glorified on billboards
throughout" the city. Additionally, during ESPN's coverage
of the event, commentators "continually talked about the
feisty young players making their way up the rankings."
Ailana Kamelmacher, spokesperson for Burson Marsteller in
London, which created the campaign, said research "has shown
that the public wants to learn more about the young players,
so our goal was to show the strong attitudes of the new
blood, and to make them look slightly godlike -- like
gladiators in a duel" (Salon.com, 8/10).
A NEW ANGLE? TENNIS' Douglas Robson examines the
marketing of homosexual athletes and writes as more athletes
"come out, with no apparent detriment to their respective
sports, the notion that any acknowledgement of homosexual
orientation frightens off fans or sponsors is carrying less
and less weight. The WTA's real fear may be that the
lesbian label will undermine the glamor image that tour
officials are trying so desperately to cultivate with the
likes of" Anna Kournikova, Martina Hingis and the Williams
sisters. More Robson: "Has it ever dawned on anyone that
respecting and supporting gays and lesbians within the sport
might actually boost tennis' appeal to a younger generation
that's generally hipper and more accepting of homosexuality
than previous ones?" (TENNIS, 9/2000 issue).
THEY'RE DOLLS: BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton reports that
IMG has "cut a licensing deal" with Play Along for a line of
9-inch Venus and Serena Williams dolls "to be rolled out at
FAO Schwarz" during the U.S. Open (BRANDWEEK, 8/7 issue).
