Reebok Unveils Ad Campaign For "Rampage" Jackson Ahead Of Final UFC Fight

UFC fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will “appear in an ad campaign for a pair of training shoes Reebok is marketing as ‘All Terrain Vehicle’” as he prepares for his final fight with the MMA outfit on Saturday at "UFC on Fox 6" in Chicago, according to Kevin Iole of YAHOO SPORTS. Reebok held a news conference in Chicago yesterday “to announce the deal with Jackson.” However, the company’s name “won't be seen anywhere” during Fox’ broadcast of the event, because Reebok is “not a UFC-approved sponsor and thus Jackson has been barred from wearing any of its branding into the Octagon.” Reebok VP & Head of U.S. Marketing John Lynch said that the company was “interested in Jackson because of his personality and the image he portrays and not because of where he competes.” Lynch said, "We think his personality will transcend where he is at. I understand the UFC is the 800-pound gorilla in this sport. We get that. But we believe he's got a tremendous amount of juice on his own.” Lynch added that Reebok's “desire isn't necessarily to be affiliated with the UFC brand.” Lynch said that Reebok “isn't troubled by whatever issues Jackson has or has had with the UFC, because it wasn't looking to land a fighter per se to endorse the ATV shoe.” Lynch: "There's a celebrity side of him and a fighter side of him. I'm not the one who is best to differentiate all of that, but for us, we're looking at him as a guy who embodies fitness and training" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/22).