In Melbourne, Michael Chammas reports tennis player Andy Murray has described the "decision to appoint a betting partner at a grand slam as 'hypocritical.'" The Australian Open this year signed betting agency William Hill to a sponsorship deal, but Murray "is opposed to the historic partnership." With the report of match-fixing casting a cloud over the start of the tourney, Murray said, "I don't believe the players are allowed to be sponsored by betting companies but then the tournaments are. I don't really understand how it all works. I think it's a bit strange" (Melbourne AGE, 1/20). In Sydney, Perry Williams notes William Hill "shrugged off criticism" of its sponsorship after recording an 80% "surge in betting turnover on the first day" of the tournament and a nearly 300% increase in the "controversial live-in-play betting method" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 1/20).
WHAT A GIRL WANTS: FAST COMPANY's Robert Safian notes Nike CEO Mark Parker and Serena Williams have "worked closely together on Williams's line of Nike products." Parker said, "It's really iterative and organic. We go back and forth. Serena has a million ideas and very strong opinions about what she likes and doesn't like, or what she wants to portray of herself and how she wants to project." Williams: "Mark has known me for several years now, and he knows, for instance, something simple: I like roses, so he was able to put that in the design. He showed me different designs of a shoe that were inspired by some of the things that I like. Having that collaboration and being sensitive like that really helps across the board for all athletes" (FAST COMPANY, 2/'16 issue).
BETTER LLEYTON THAN NEVER: MUMBRELLA.com.au's Simon Canning reported the retiring Lleyton Hewitt "will mark his final grand slam tournament with a long-form content campaign" for Australia-based Industry Super Funds. The campaign "was created by Ensemble to be used as native content" by Australia's Seven network in a similar way to Jacobs Creek wine’s "content series over previous years." The series debuted last night to "coincide with Hewitt's first match" against James Duckworth. While Australian-owned Swisse Vitamins "launched its campaign featuring Hewitt on the first day of the tournament, Industry Super Funds instead adopted a content strategy tied to Hewitt’s schedule and the Seven network" (MUMBRELLA.com.au, 1/19).
