PANTHERS STRESS PLAYERS' BEEF AND GOOD LOOKS IN NEW ADS

          A series of new TV ads for the NHL Panthers show some
     of the team's players "on the beach, playing golf, ordering
     pizza," according to Sarah Talalay of the Ft. Lauderdale
     SUN-SENTINEL, who wrote that the "crux of the campaign is to
     show the players without their helmets and bulky jerseys, as
     regular guys whom people identify because they follow the
     team."  The ads, via Zimmerman & Partners, are part of a
     larger marketing campaign that includes billboards, mailings
     and promos "designed to appeal to an audience from kids to
     senior citizens, and in particular casual hockey fans
     needing a push to attend games."  In one spot, two women
     "argue over the pronunciation" of RW Pavel Bure's name.  In
     another, a woman comments on a player who appears without a
     shirt on the beach, "He looks great."  Another woman
     responds, "You should see him on the ice.  He's a Florida
     Panther. ... I go to the game."  The song "The Boys are Back
     in Town" is used in the spots (SUN-SENTINEL, 9/25).