Names & Faces: Nike’s “The Lebrons” Campaign Scores Well

In a USA TODAY Ad Track survey for Nike’s “The LeBrons” campaign featuring Cavaliers F LeBron James, 20% of people familiar with the ads — and 31% in the 18-24 demo — liked the ads “a lot,” compared to the Ad Track average of 21%. Nike Dir of Content & Partnerships Adam Roth said the campaign’s prime target was “kids who play basketball. We go after that younger player, the teen baller.” But Roth added with an “athlete of LeBron’s scope, we’re trying to appeal to a broader audience” (USA TODAY, 3/13).

Columnist Feels Federer Driving Force In Tennis

RACKET MAN: In L.A., Bill Dwyre wrote Swiss tennis player Roger Federer “makes the racket for his sport, just as Tiger Woods is the driver for his.” Federer is “far from a local story. His attraction is both Tennis magazine and People magazine. ... Tennis has given him to the world. And he has given back, willingly and comfortably.” ATP execs said that they have “never had anybody more willing to promote the game, more willing to cooperate with tournament officials or sponsors or reporters from pint-sized papers or 10-watt stations” (L.A. TIMES, 3/11).

MOSS: In Baton Rouge, Timothy Boone reported Raiders WR Randy Moss plans to launch a clothing line called Grabman. Moss also bought an interest in Colorado-based juice bar chain Inta Juice last month and became a member of the company’s BOD (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 3/11).