MARKETING WEEK's Sebastian Joseph reported Li Ning has "suspended its deal with Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell as the fallout from his positive drugs test escalates." The company said it "strongly" supports the star's "proactive" approach toward the incident and his cooperation with WADA, but it has put its deal on hold (MARKETINGWEEK.co.uk, 7/17).
SWEATER WEATHER: GOLF WORLD's Tim Rosaforte reports Under Armour is sending golfer Jordan Spieth, who is playing in his first British Open, his "outfits for the week" from its Baltimore HQs. Spieth, a UA endorser, qualified for the event by winning the PGA Tour John Deere Classic on Sunday. Spieth said that "all he packed for his latest three-week trip on the PGA Tour was short-sleeved shirts" (GOLF WORLD, 7/22 issue).
LOOKING FOR MORE: BRAND REPUBLIC's Maisie McCabe noted Gatorade released a new TV ad in the U.S. to "build on the idea that its Thirst Quencher drink can help sportspeople as they ask their bodies to perform 'one more.'" The ad, created by TBWA\Chiat\Day, "intersperses clips of an American football team training with images of men lifting weights in the gym, all using Gatorade Thirst Quencher to do 'one more' of the exercises" (BRANDREPUBLIC.com, 7/16).
SCORING A TOUCHDOWN: The NFL has signed an exclusive agreement with Export Now to utilize its e-commerce strategy to establish an official online store in China on the Tmall.com domain. The new online store will debut in September (Export Now).
