FOOTBALL: The NFL's broadcast partners, "despite
posting flat ratings" last year, said that "they're
generating significant" CPM increases from advertisers.
ESPN/ABC Sports President of Customer Marketing & Sales Ed
Erhardt said that the nets are "generating CPM increases in
the mid-teens," and CBS Senior VP/Sports Sales Scott McGraw
said that his net is "pulling CPM increases ranging from"
11-13%. Both Erhardt and McGraw are telling advertisers
that they "expect ratings to be flat this year." Also, with
three weeks remaining until the start of the regular season,
ESPN/ABC Sports and CBS Sports execs added that "much of
their" ad inventory is sold out (Steve Donohue, MULTICHANNEL
NEWS, 8/14)....AD AGE's Thompson & Linnett report that
M&M/Mars will use Super Bowl XXXV to launch a $40M "ad blitz
for Snicker Cruncher," a new crisped rice version of the
Snickers bar (AD AGE, 8/14 issue).
JENNY: In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen responds to criticism
over U.S. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson's topless photo in
SI. Sorensen, on Thompson: "I find her smart and gracious
and a little bit shy. Posing ... without a top is ever so
unlike her. This is one reason she has been criticized.
She has not stayed within the lines. Why not give her a
break and consider the pose an adventure?" More Sorensen:
"When I first saw the picture, my eyes did not immediately
go to her fists [which cover her breasts]. Instead, I saw
the big picture. I saw a woman who was comfortable with her
body and having a good time showing it off" (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 8/15). In Toronto, Garth Woolsey, on the photo:
"SI remains in the cut-throat business of selling magazines.
Editors, more or less, give the readers what they think they
want, including all sorts of gimmicky photos. ... Like
sports, sex sells. Whether you buy into that is in the end
your own decision, your own business" (TORONTO STAR, 8/15).
HOCKEY: In Dallas, Richard Alm reported that Stars C
Mike Modano's new endorsement deal with PepsiCo, which he
signed last month, "calls for participation in a new
charity" that will donate money to youth activities in North
TX. Modano, "in turn, ... expects" Pepsi to support a
foundation he's "preparing to launch soon." Modano's
business manager Bob Murray said Modano's deal with Easton
also includes a charitable component (DMN, 8/12). In Tampa,
Ira Kaufman wrote that Lightning G Kevin Weekes, who will
appear on ABC's "One Life to Live" August 31 (see THE DAILY,
8/9), has "dazzled" NHL execs with his "good looks, personal
charm and sense of style. Look for the league to market him
with photo spreads and national magazine stories in an
attempt to broaden hockey's appeal" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 8/13).
