Advertising execs believe that Bruins players are "likely to score marketing gold after winning the Stanley Cup," according to Allison Knothe of the BOSTON GLOBE. Dunkin' Donuts "wants to add" Bruins G Tim Thomas, the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, "to its roster of sports pitchmen, which already includes teammate Tyler Seguin." Thomas' agent, Bill Zito, said that he "had five calls from prospective sponsors" about his client less than 24 hours after the Bruins defeated the Canucks in Game Seven Wednesday night. Also, D Zdeno Chara's agent, Matt Keator, said that the Bruins' captain "had also received multiple calls." Boston-based ad agency Arnold Worldwide CEO Andrew Benett said, "Because of the way they won it and the intensity of the victory, it’s a great marketing story and a great story for a brand to attach itself to" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/17). Meanwhile, Thomas, Chara and LW Patrice Bergeron appeared on NBC’s “Today” Friday morning along with the Stanley Cup. Chara said of lifting the Cup after winning Game Seven, “It’s something that I will never forget. I was so happy for everybody.” Chara said of Bruins fans, “They’ve been so happy and so thankful. When you walk into Boston right now, they’re just expressing their thankfulness.” Thomas said of winning the Stanley Cup, “For all of us hockey players, it’s a lifelong dream.” NBC’s Ann Curry concluded the segment by kissing the Cup (“Today,” NBC, 6/17).
CUP RUNNETH OVER: In Boston, Grillo & Turner report "scores of frenzied Bruins fans packed stores" on Thursday "in search of B’s gear, but the most popular items -- Stanley Cup hats, jerseys, car magnets and pennants -- were gone within hours of the championship win." Kyle Charon, a manager at a N.Y.-based Modell's Sporting Goods store who drove to Boston to lend a hand at the store in Medford, said, "It was a spectacle." Two Boston-area Modell's stores opened immediately after Game Seven, and Charon said, "The line was around the corner all the way down the mall, and the store was filled with people, and we went through 500 hats in less than an hour.” Grillo & Turner note the "madness was the same at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores across New England," which opened at 5:00am ET on Thursday to "accommodate fans who couldn’t wait to get their hands on Bruins jerseys, hockey sticks, locker room towels, T-shirts and decals" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/17). Also in Boston, Abelson & Mangouri report Bruins merchandise "sold out in less than an hour after Reebok," the NHL's official outfitter, opened its Patriot Place store on Thursday. Despite a "14-hour manufacturing marathon that began at 11 p.m. Wednesday, local shops could not keep up with the feverish demand fresh off the Bruins’ victory" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/17).
