Wayne Gretzky is profiled by James Deacon of MACLEAN'S,
who wrote that "lately" some of the attention paid to
Gretzky "has been negative, at least in Canada," due to his
numerous commercial appearances and endorsements since his
retirement. Deacon: "In his defence, members of his
marketing team argue that he hasn't overextended his
commercial reach; it just looks that way. They point to the
fact that [Michael] Jordan has more endorsements than
Gretzky, but not all of Jordan's new ads appeared at the
same time. Gretzky's have." But sports marketing
"insiders" say that it was "inevitable that companies,
having paid the big endorsement deals, were going to launch
their ad campaigns when their client's profile is highest,
and that means now." Meanwhile, Gretzky is "very sensitive"
about the criticism he received for appearing in Tylenol ads
that "insinuat[ed]" he was suffering from arthritis.
Gretzky said that Nolan Ryan "has been doing the same for a
competitor's product for years." Gretzky: "All of [a]
sudden, I did it and people reacted as if no one had ever
done that before. I have nothing to apologize for."
WILL HE CATCH HEAT FOR A-B SPOTS? Gretzky is "not
stepping back," as he has reportedly signed a seven-figure
deal with A-B to do a series of ads for Bud Light that will
"likely begin to appear once ABC starts broadcasting" NHL
games next year. He also has a deal in the works with
Folger's coffee, and a "smaller contract that would give him
an equity position with an Internet company." Even with
these deals, Deacon noted that Gretzky "will still have
fewer endorsements than he had when he was playing" in L.A.
and "no one complained then" (MACLEAN'S, 11/22 issue).
