Marketplace Roundup

Nike Golf President Cindy Davis said Tiger Woods “has always been an integral part of Nike Golf” and he remains “part of our story this year.” Davis: “He’s in our advertising already. We’ve featured him already in print ads, and he was it. He’s in our television campaigns. People are going to see him.” Davis said Woods’ personal issues are “old news.” Davis: “I think everybody wants to watch this guy play the kind of golf that he can play” (GOLFWEEK.com, 1/26).

STUNNER SHADES: In Ft. Lauderdale, Ira Winderman reports the NBA has banned Heat G Dwyane Wade “from playing in the tinted goggles he had utilized since Monday to combat the effects bright lights have had on his migraines.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said that the team “was told the goggles, because of the tinting, presented Wade with an unfair advantage because opponents could not clearly see his eyes.” The Heat previously “sent pictures of Wade’s eyewear to the league office,” but Thursday was the “first time the goggles were subject to direct inspection” (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 1/28). Wade wore an orange-tinted pair of goggles instead during Thursday night’s game against the Knicks (NEWSDAY, 1/28).

GIDDY UP: In San Antonio, Scott Bailey reported the local Northside Ford dealership named Spurs F Tiago Splitter “its first celebrity spokesman,” signing him to a one-year deal with an option for two more years. Splitter will “appear in a series of television commercials for the San Antonio-based auto dealership.” The spots are part of Northside Ford’s new ad campaign and “are scheduled to run from February through May.” In one of the spots, Splitter is “dressed in rodeo gear, complete with cowboy hat and boots” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/27).

REAPING THE BENEFITS: After winning the NFL's "Back To Football" corporate campaign rally competition in September, league sponsor Pepsi was rewarded with a commercial about the event, produced by NFL Films. The ad will air during Fox' broadcast of the Pro Bowl Sunday (Terry Lefton, THE DAILY).