AUTONEWS.com's Ryan Beene reported Volkswagen of America is "further reducing its media presence in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal by putting national advertising on hold for at least the next two weeks." The moratorium runs "through October 11, effective immediately." While TV ads "will be pulled, the brand will maintain some of is branding properties, including its sponsorship of post-game coverage on NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts to avoid forfeiting its presence on the highly rated live sports platform" (AUTONEWS.com, 9/26).
WARDROBE MALFUNCTION: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sara Germano notes Kenyan runner and Nike endorser Eliud Kipchoge won the Berlin Marathon yesterday but "fell short of a world record after the neon-green insoles of his white running shoes came apart less than an hour into the competition." The shoes' collapse was "an embarrassing display for Nike." Kipchoge finished the race in 2 hours, 4 minutes -- "a personal best and the fastest marathon time in the world so far this year -- but he was 63 seconds short of the world record, which was his goal for the day." He said, "It wasn’t a good day for me in these shoes, although they’re actually very good. I tested them in Kenya, but just had bad luck on the day. I had problems from the first kilometer" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/28).
STRING MUSIC: Yonex has been named official stringer for the Australian Open. The Yonex team will be on site at Melbourne Park for three weeks in January, providing stringing services for every stage of the tournament from the start of qualifying. The team expects to string more than 4,000 rackets during the event (Australian Open)
