The release of a new Beats By Dre commercial featuring Cavaliers F LeBron James marks "perhaps the first time a highly paid Samsung Electronics endorser has pitched a product made by Apple," according to Ira Boudway of BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK. James' appearance in the ad represents a "sly marketing feat by Apple," which bought Beats for $3B in May and "managed to grab James in the deal despite his work on behalf of Samsung." James has endorsed Beats since '08, but how the two brands "live together in his sponsorship portfolio is a mystery." Neither Apple nor Samsung commented on the story, and a rep for James declined "to get into specifics of his endorsement agreements." The rep did point out that "headphones and smartphones are different categories and that James continues to be a committed user" of both products from both companies (BUSINESSWEEK.com, 10/20).
THE JAMES GANG: ESPN.com's Ethan Strauss cited data from a recent ESPN Sports Poll showing that James was named the "favorite player" of 18.4% of NBA fans. That is "almost double" the 9.4% figure from the '11-12 season, when he was "still mired in Decision backlash" after signing with the Heat. However, his "surge in popularity is confined to certain demographics." The popularity jump "was pronounced among whites and Hispanics polled." In the '12-13 season, 9.7% of white NBA fans listed James as their "favorite player." That figure "crept up" to 13.2% last season and registered at 16.0% in the latest September survey. Hispanics "supported" James to the tune of 13.5% during the '13-14 season and now do so at 17.4%. James was the favorite player for 28.1% of the African-American NBA fans polled during the '13-14 season, and the latest figures "show no 'I'm coming home' impact in that demographic," with James most recently "registering as the favorite player" for 27.8% of African-American fans. Fans ages 12 to 17 went from a 22.4% favorite rating during the season to 21.4%. Support among fans age 18 to 34 "crept up only" 0.6% during this time frame. Strauss: "The millennial NBA fan seems to care little as to where LeBron works" (ESPN.com, 10/20).
