Marketplace Roundup

Was Federer's Post-Wimbledon Jacket A Bit Too Flashy?

SI.com's Jon Wertheim wrote Roger Federer's tennis "might be incomparable but his accessorizing leaves a lot to be desired." Wertheim: "I'll join the many of you who wrote in critiquing Federer's ridiculous attire. ... The piece de resistance ... was that '15' jacket Federer donned immediately after winning Sunday's final, an article of clothing that simultaneously managed to be presumptuous, self-aggrandizing and sensationally tacky." Wertheim wondered, "Who exactly is tasked with Federer's image these days? Why does this person have a job? And why is Federer allowing Nike's agenda to undercut an image that, much like his old attire, needed no further ornamentation? ... Whose bright idea was it to transform that thoroughly likable guy into King Bling? Did the Nike marketing data really indicate that kids would warm to all those elitist touches?" (SI.com, 7/8).

OPTIMAL ADDITION: Gillette has added NASCAR driver Joey Logano to its group of Gillette Young Gun Drivers, joining Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman. Logano recently participated in the filming of a new ad featuring all seven Gillette Young Guns in support of the Gillette Optimal Shave indicator strip. The 30-second spot, via BBDO, N.Y., will begin airing during TNT's coverage of Saturday's Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway (THE DAILY).

DEERE TO THEIR HEARTS: In Chicago, Teddy Greenstein notes Deere & Co.'s sponsorship of the PGA Tour John Deere Classic expires after the '10 event, and if the company "pulls out -- it's expected to decide by March -- several cities along the Illinois-Iowa border could be the big losers." The tournament, which tees off today, "generates about [$20-25M] a year for the local economy, and last year it raised" $4.79M for 500 local charities. Deere & Co. officials would not comment on the annual sponsorship cost, but sources estimated that the deal costs $6-8M annually, which covers 60% of the $4.3M purse, as well as "advertising buys on CBS and Golf Channel, corporate hospitality and a chartered jet that transports players, spouses and caddies to the following week's British Open" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/9).

OLYMPIC PLANE: Air Canada yesterday unveiled a '10 Vancouver Olympics-themed Boeing 777 aircraft that features a 53-meter long graphic design with the same blue and green images seen on Olympic posters, tickets and the VANOC Web site. The illustrations include snowboard parallel giant slalom, hockey and cross-country skiing on one side, and alpine skiing, ice sledge hockey and ski jumping on the other. The plane will enter service on July 16 and fly to Asian and European destinations (Air Canada).