Mark McGwire ended his historic season yesterday in St.
Louis by hitting his 69th and 70th HRs (see #7 & #10).
Although marketing experts have estimated that McGwire could
earn up to $6M in endorsements, he "seems indifferent about
such possibilities," according to T.R. Sullivan of the FT.
WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. McGwire, asked about any deals: "There
are some on the table but none that are turning my crank
right now. The one thing I wouldn't allow is let anybody
take away from myself. I won't do any personal appearances.
This is my vacation. If you get caught up in that, the next
thing you know, it's spring training" (STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/28).
TWO-BAGGER: Burns Sports Celebrity President Bob
Williams said that advertisers are likely to target McGwire
since he won the HR title: "Advertisers are human and want
to associate their products or services with winners." But
the AP's Skip Wollenberg wrote that some advertisers "may
try to sign" both McGwire and Sammy Sosa for commercials,
"playing off" their apparent camaraderie (AP/Mult., 9/26).
THE BIG SCREEN? Asked about Hollywood's interest in a
movie on his HR chase, McGwire said, "Why do a movie when
the whole country already saw the movie? The whole country
already saw the real thing happen" (L.A. TIMES, 9/26).
WHAT ABOUT SLAMMIN' SAMMY? In L.A., Greg Johnson wrote
that Sosa's "gracious response to the media storm generated"
by the HR chase "seems to be bolstering his appeal to
marketers." Sosa "seems tailored for marketers chasing this
country's fast-growing Latino population," and some
marketers say he "could be the strongest" on the East Coast
"because it's home to so many Caribbean and Central American
immigrants." Horacio Segal, Senior Research Associate at
Hispanic & Asian Marketing Communications: "He could help
with a pan-regional advertising approach ... maybe the
Spanish-language spokesperson for a big cola company,
because he's regionally and culturally appropriate." But
others feel that Sosa, who speaks English "with a foreign
accent, might not click with mainstream advertisers who fear
that he won't be understood in a 30-second spot" (L.A.
TIMES, 9/26). Sosa, asked if he was "eager" to sign a
reported deal with Chevrolet which would feature him in an
ad with Michael Jordan: "I don't have a problem with that.
If they want to do that, I will" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/27).
