The Taco Bell spot featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille
O'Neal will run Saturday night on ABC between 9pm and 11pm. The
"spot itself is almost anti-climatic after the commotion created
by the two players' newspaper exchange," according to Gene Yasuda
in Orlando (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/7). "NBC Nightly News," ESPN's
"SportsCenter," and "EXTRA" had footage of the Taco Bell ads
directed by Spike Lee (Mult., 7/6-7)....The Patriots' Vincent
Brown appears in a Converse ad for their Scatback sneaker that
ran nationally on MTV in June. A Converse spokesperson says
Brown "fits in quite nicely with the cross-training, team-concept
idea that we've been promoting" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/7).
....Motorola's sponsorship of the PGA Tour's Western Open was
profiled last night on CNN's "MoneyLine." Motorola will spend
over $2M in prize money and $2M in TV advertising and the costs
of hospitality suites. Motorola Sports Marketing Manager Dave
Weisz: "We look for sponsorships where our technologies can be
utilized. On course here, during the tournament, we will use 300
cellular phones, 600 pagers, and 280 two-way radios, just to
coordinate all of the different people working on it" (CNN,
7/6)....Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are expected to post "higher second
quarter earnings." According to estimates, Coca-Cola could
report a net income jump of 20%, while PepsiCo is "expected" to
report a 9% earnings increase (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/7).
....Between games during a doubleheader Saturday, the Astros and
Padres will compete in Farm and Ranch day events. Contest
include hog calling and goat milking, with players James Mouton,
Shane Reynolds, and Greg Swindell taking part (HOUSTON CHRONICLE,
7/7)....Tigers 1B Cecil Fielder will pay for fans' bleacher
tickets for Saturday's game against the Royals. The game will
help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Negro Leagues (DETROIT
FREE PRESS, 7/7).... Atlanta's Urban Design Commission approved a
plan by Olympic sponsor Swatch to put a 92-foot working Swatch
watch on the wall of the Rhodes-Haverty Building in downtown
Atlanta. ... MasterCard has added several items to its site on
the World Wide Web, including information on the '98 World
Champion Soccer tournament (AD AGE ONLINE, 7/7)...Topps announced
they have completed the acquisition of Merlin Publishing Int'l, a
UK company that publishes and markets sticker and album
collections, for close to $46M in cash (Topps).... Tommy Boy
Music, along with ESPN Entertainment, has compiled Jock Jams, its
second collection of stadium and arena songs. It will be in
stores July 25, and comes on the heels of "Jock Rock." The album
begins with Michael Buffer's call of "Let's Get Ready To Rumble"
(Tommy Boy)....Baltimore's CFL team announces their name today.
The leading candidates are Stallions, Mustangs, and Steeds
(Baltimore SUN, 7/7).
