Broncos QB Tim Tebow appears “shirtless in an advertisement for the Jockey 'Sport' underwear collection” on the company's website that contains the header, "Playoffs. It's Tebow Time," according to Michael McCarthy of USA TODAY. The image first appeared on Jockey’s website Monday. Tebow’s popularity is "driving up sales of Jockey’s men’s and women’s underwear products.” Jockey CMO Dustin Cohn said that Tebow “definitely is attracting female consumers to the male-oriented brand” (USA TODAY, 1/11). In Milwaukee, Don Walker noted Tebow is “the face of the company's ‘staycool’ underwear collection.” Jockey Dir of PR Mo Moorman yesterday said that the line “is the fastest-selling collection in the company's 135-year history.” Tebow also plays a role “in a contest Jockey is sponsoring, the Jockey $1 Million ‘Super’ Challenge.” If Tebow takes his team to the Super Bowl, the company “plans to give away $1 million in underwear,” with one winner to taking home "$15,000 in cash.” Moorman said, "Since launching this challenge less than a month ago, we've had more than 45,000 entries. That's a lot for what we typically see for contest participation" (JSONLINE.com, 1/10).
NO STOPPING TEBOW-MANIA: AD AGE’s Rich Thomaselli noted in addition to Jockey, Tebow currently has endorsement deals with Nike and EA Sports, among others, “that net him about $1 million to $2 million a year." But Baker Street Advertising Exec VP & Exec Creative Dir Bob Dorfman expects Tebow's marketing income “to increase to $3 million to $5 million next year -- and double that if he continues to win.” Dorfman said, "He's become an icon; he's bigger than football." He added, “He has the kind of marketing potential that could put him in the Tom Brady or Peyton Manning category." PR consultant Joe Favorito said, "Ten million a year? Yeah, I think it's reasonable so long as his career continues to move along." The Marketing Arm Account Dir Darin David: "I'm not so sure he didn't get to the $10 million (a year) level already after Sunday." According to The Marketing Arm’s Davie-Brown Index, which measures celebrity popularity and buzzworthiness in several attributes, Tebow “now ranks among the top 85 celebrities in the world in the Trendsetter attribute, on par with George Clooney, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake.” He is “in the top 75" for Trust, while ranking in the top 40 alongside Tom Hanks, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift for Influence. Thomasselli noted one thing “that might hold Mr. Tebow back from $10 million a year -- or anywhere near it -- is his very public Christian religious beliefs” (ADAGE.com, 1/10).
READ ALL ABOUT IT: CNBC's Darren Rovell reported Tebow's autobiography "Through My Eyes" was the "best selling sports book" of '11, with Nielsen Bookscan data claiming "185,000 copies were sold." That topped "Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside The World Of ESPN," which sold 115,000 books. Harper Collins Senior VP & Dir of Creative Development Lisa Sharkey, whose company acquired Tebow's book, said that sales "are much higher than that number reflects." Sharkey: "We've sold hundreds of thousands of copies of this book. We have 555,000 in print." Rovell noted Harper Collins' projections do not "include the 200,000 copies of a children's version of the book that has roughly half the amount of pages and is written in simpler language" (CNBC.com, 1/9).
MUST-SEE TV: With the Broncos' OT win over the Steelers last Sunday being the highest-rated Wild Card round game in 18 years, NFL Network’s Kara Henderson said, “This is why television networks are fighting over Broncos games, and this, for you folks who are asking why we talk about Tim Tebow so much, is why we’re talking about Tim Tebow so much." The game was the "most-watched TV program since last year’s Super Bowl." Henderson: "The ‘Tebow Effect’ is in full effect” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 1/10). With the Broncos facing the Patriots Saturday night, ESPN's "PTI" debated whether Tebow currently was a bigger star than Patriots QB Tom Brady. ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said, "Right now, today, Tim Tebow is a bigger star. … He makes the needle move. He's the guy that everybody is curious about." ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said Tebow is a "lightning rod for every discussion, every debate in America … but that doesn't make him a star." Wilbon: "He's a curiosity. ... Tom Brady is the biggest star in the NFL” (“PTI,” ESPN, 1/10).
IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT....: Tebow was the subject on last night’s Top Ten list on CBS' "Late Night." The topic was “Top Ten Little Known Facts About Tim Tebow” (“Late Show,” CBS, 1/10).
10) “Fell to Earth after his home planet Krypton exploded.”
9) “Throws left, prays right.”
8) “For breakfast has Icy Hot on toast.”
7) “If you tell him your street address, he’ll tell you the value of your home.”
6) “Currently 9th on the Kim Kardashian athlete waiting list.”
5) “Back in college threw a football twenty yards!”
4) “One time, lost his temper and said, ‘Darn it.’”
3) “Distracts defenders by flashing his beautiful, piercing blue eyes.”
2) “Justin Bieber fans have ‘Bieber Fever’; Tim Tebow fans have ‘The Tebola Virus.’”
1) “Can turn water into Gatorade.”
