Nike has announced the formation of P.L.A.Y.CORPS, a program
which identifies and trains college students to coach in city
youth leagues. The P.L.A.Y.CORPS program will operate in
Atlanta, Philadelphia and Portland, and is the newest element of
Nike's P.L.A.Y. initiative. Sports vary by city, but choices
include soccer, football, basketball, tennis, street hockey and
golf (Nike)....MasterCard Int'l is profiled in NEWSWEEK for its
sponsorship of Euro '96, the European Soccer championships.
MasterCard Dir of Special-Events Marketing Marianne Fulgenzi:
"We are a global brand, and we look at international soccer as
the best way to build brand awareness globally" (NEWSWEEK, 6/17
issue)....With Coca-Cola and PepsiCo "leading the charge,"
beverage companies are diversifying their products, and analysts
predict, fruit and vegetable juices will "be in the spotlight"
(JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, 6/8)....Wilson Racquet Sports' new ad
campaign marks the first time the company has advertised on TV
since the '93 U.S. Open (Wilson).... Trauma Records has signed a
joint-venture pact with TWISM records, the label owned by
Shaquille O'Neal (VARIETY, 6/10 issue). ....Players Inc., the
marketing and licensing subsidiary of the NFLPA, is bringing
together a collection of NFL stars to film a series of
commercials to debut during the fall (Players Inc.)....According
to Damon Stoudamire's father/ business manager, Willie
Stoudamire, the NBA rookie-of-the-year has signed with Procter &
Gamble to endorse Pert shampoo (TORONTO SUN, 6/11)....At its
conference in New Orleans, the Southern Baptist Convention, the
nation's largest Protestant denomination, urged its 16 million
members to "think twice" before spending money on Disney theme
parks, movies and products. Church leaders cited Disney's
policies toward homosexuals and production of "R"-rated movies
("World News Tonight," ABC, 6/10).
