Tennis player Maria Sharapova said of her Sugarpova candy line, “I want this to be the best gummy brand in the world. When I thought about the idea, I did a lot of Internet research on candies, and I asked my friends: ‘What's your favorite gummy candy?’ They would never mention a brand name. They would only name, for instance, the shape, like ‘Oh, that round one’ or 'ears' or ‘little worms.’ I thought that was really interesting, because not one person told me a specific brand of candy, and I felt like there was a huge opportunity there” (MOSCOW TIMES, 4/25).
THE REAL MCCOY: The AP reported the NFL “won a court order Wednesday to shut down the operators of nearly 1,500 China-based websites accused of selling fake NFL merchandise, continuing the league's effort to counter booming counterfeit sales of its popular player jerseys and other merchandise.” The league in a lawsuit “accused the website operators of being part of a single network of counterfeiters who sell fake jerseys, headwear and other merchandise bearing the trademarks of the league or its 32 teams” (AP, 4/25).
PICTURE PERFECT: MOBILE COMMERCIAL DAILY’s Lauren Johnson reported Nike is “leveraging Instagram with a new microsite that not only lets consumers customize their own pair of sneakers, but also shop from their smartphones, tablets and desktops.” The site “syncs with a user’s Instagram account and is accessible at http://photoid.nike.com.” Nike is using the campaign “to push the brand’s line of Nike Air Max sneakers” (MOBILECOMMERCIALDAILY.com, 4/24).
