Samsung on Thursday named tennis player Maria Sharapova as a brand ambassador for the '14 Sochi Olympics and unveiled its Samsung Galaxy Team Russia for the games, which includes Penguins C Evgeni Malkin. Samsung will continue selecting athletes in 16 countries to join the Samsung team (Samsung).
DOUBLE DIP: The AP's Jenna Fryer reported NASCAR driver Kurt Busch is "trying to put together a sponsorship deal to do the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 'double' next season." He would like to race the Indy 500 with Andretti Autosport, "the team that tested him at Indianapolis last May, but needs funding to put together the team." Busch said, "Sponsorship is the name of the game. Everybody wants good advertising partners to do great things with, and I think this is a unique opportunity. We're out there looking and we're out there promoting and we'll see if things come together the right way" (AP, 8/1).
DO THE DEW: SPORTING NEWS' Bob Pockrass noted NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently debuted a new Diet Mountain Dew commercial and is "one of four Mountain Dew spokesmen who took part in the brand’s new 'Portraits' commercial campaign, where the celebrities collaborated with the directors on what to portray." Earnhardt’s commercial includes a "remote-control car, checkered flags, an engine, a steak flipping through the air and even his Whisky River bar logo" (
SPORTINGNEWS.com, 8/1).
DUF MAN: In Akron, Marla Ridenour writes golfers Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley have "embraced the phenomenon" of "Dufnering," a trend started by Dufner earlier this year. Dufner said that he and Bradley "actually considered obtaining its trademark." Dufner: “We looked into that. (But we decided to) just let it go, let them have fun with it.” Ridenour notes T-shirts reading “Everyday I’m Dufnering” have surfaced on the Internet and are being "sold in 10 colors" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 8/2).
BULL RUN: Hardee's this week is reintroducing its Texas Toast Breakfast Sandwich in an ad campaign starring PBR rider Douglas Duncan. The commercial will air through mid-October in 29 states (PBR).
