Marketplace Roundup

ADWEEK's Emma Bazilian noted JCPenney over the next few weeks will be "encouraging customers to round up purchases to the nearest dollar to support" the USOC. To promote the campaign, JCPenney "came up with an extremely random but also sort-of-genius concept: an Olympics-themed remake of Blackstreet's 1996 hip-hop classic 'No Diggity'" featuring U.S. skier Ted Ligety. The "Go Ligety" spot "loosely parodies Blackstreet's original 'No Diggity' video, but with JCPenney being a family brand and all, there are some pretty major changes: Rather than having scantily clad video girls emerge from a limo, the 'Go Ligety' backup dancers are a group of minivan-driving suburban moms" (ADWEEK.com, 1/29).

SERVING UP DEALS: In London, Bill Wilson wrote tennis player Eugenie Bouchard is "being tipped as the next marketing face of the women's game." WTA Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster said, "She is an incredibly talented athlete, and a very marketable brand ambassador for any company that wants to get involved with her. I do believe that with her winning form and continued success that many brands will look to Genie for partnerships." At present, Bouchard has "only a handful of brand associations, mostly tennis equipment-related, albeit of a high-profile nature" (BBC.co.uk, 1/28).

SKY'S THE LIMIT: Mobile Bay LPGA Classic Tournament Dir Jonathan Romeo said that adding Airbus as the title sponsor "brings even more strength to the event." He said, "Having a title sponsor from a corporate citizen that is locally based, that's what you want. They've got ownership of the event and being a part of the event, it raises the level, probably higher than this event's ever been, and it will continue to get bigger and bigger as Airbus' involvement grows more and more.'' Romeo said that it "was obviously important to find a title sponsor for the tournament, but to find one that is so involved with the local community, especially a company just coming into the community, is a huge plus" (AL.com, 1/28).