Unilever's Degree Deodorant brand today announced that it has renewed its endorsement deal with Warriors G Stephen Curry, who will continue to play a leading role in Degree marketing campaigns. The first in a new series of marketing and advertising efforts focused around Curry will debut in early '16. Curry since '14 has appeared in multiple Degree campaigns that have included national TV spots, plus digital and social content (Unilever).
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Teixeira's alleged involvment in a bribery scandal
with Nike dates back to the '94 World Cup
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MONEY TRAIL?: The LONDON TIMES reported Nike has been "plunged into a bribery scandal involving corrupt Brazilian football officials in another deal that raises serious questions about the company’s arrangements." U.S. Department of Justice investigators claim Nike paid $40M to Traffic Sports following the '94 World Cup "that helped to broker the deal." A large part of that money was then "alleged to have been transferred in kickbacks and bribes" to former Brazilian Football Confederation President Ricardo Teixeira. DOJ documents note Teixeira "began to negotiate with Nike" and Traffic Sports Founder & Owner Jose Hawilla (TIMES.co.uk, 12/6). Meanwhile, in N.Y., Richard Sandomir noted last week's indictments "highlighted the lucrative if not well-known world of media and marketing companies like Media World and the Traffic Group, which, prosecutors said, facilitated the acts of bribery central to the prosecutors' case" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/6).
COVER BOY: SPORTSNET.ca's Michael Hoad noted Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson will "grace the cover" of Playstation’s "MLB 16: The Show." A trailer has been released for the latest installment and the Blue Jays are "featured heavily throughout." This "marks the first time" a Blue Jays player has landed on the front of the U.S. release. Blue Jays RF Jose Bautista, C Russell Martin and former Blue Jays 3B Brett Lawrie, who now plays for the A's, have "all been pictured on Canadian covers of the game in the past" (SPORTSNET.ca, 12/5).
SURF'S UP: The World Surf League is launching its first international branding campaign today, releasing a 30-second spot called "Chaos Theory" set to run on ABC in the U.S., ESPN in Brazil, MCS in France and Australia's Fox 5 Sports. A 90-second version will run on the WSL's live-streaming broadcast and appear on Google's Display Network and social media sites (Ben Fischer, Staff Writer).
