The ATP Tour unveils a new ad under its "New Balls,
Please" campaign in USA TODAY. The ad features U.S. Open
Champion Marat Safin, along with Lleyton Hewitt, Gustavo
Kuerten and Magnus Norman. The ad's headline reads, "How do
you like me now?" Underlying text states, "A new breed of
champion is emerging. With 2 Grand Slams, 3 Tennis Masters
Series and 11 other titles this year, [the four featured
players] took the fast lane to the top. Watch this fall"
(USA TODAY, 9/14). Safin appeared on the "Charlie Rose"
show yesterday and said of the campaign, "The ATP is [doing]
a good job with us with the 'New Balls, Please' campaign,
because even the transportation [company for the U.S. Open],
... didn't know me until the semifinal. I called every day
during the two weeks, and they didn't know me. The people
don't know us, ... so the ATP starts to do this campaign to
show to the spectators that we are the future of tennis.
Everyone thinks Andre [Agassi] or Pete [Sampras] are going
to play until they're 40 years old. They're going to play
three, four years more" ("Charlie Rose," PBS, 9/13).
