Nike following the Astros clinching their first World Series title in franchise history pushed out a print ad featuring a "nice tribute with a photo" of CF George Springer and the copy, “Houston. Never stronger," according to Tim Nudd of ADWEEK. The line was a reference to "Houston Strong," the phrase "used to lift up the city following the devastating hurricane earlier this fall." Springer’s "star turn in the Nike ad shouldn’t come as a surprise, either." The World Series MVP is considered one of Nike’s "key endorsers" in MLB (ADWEEK.com, 11/2). Meanwhile, Adidas shortly after Game 7 sent out a tweet congratulating Astros SS Carlos Correa with the text "Champion. Strong," as well as a 10-second video splicing images of Correa and painted versions of the Boost Icon 3 cleats. Correa signed a five-year deal with Adidas prior to the start of the '16 season (THE DAILY).
MATTRESS MACK STRIKES AGAIN! Houston-based Gallery Furniture Owner Jim McIngvale said that he will be "giving back" more than $10M in purchases made from when he announced in May that he would "rebate fans who spent more than $3,000 on mattresses and beds" if the Astros won the World Series. ESPN.com's Darren Rovell noted in past promotions, McIngvale has "rolled the dice, but this time he decided to protect himself." He said, "I can say we still made money on everything." He added that he had been "drawing business with his promotion." McIngvale said that he "paid an insurance premium of between" 10-20% of the total value of what he had to pay out. In order to "balance his risk out more, he placed some bets in Las Vegas on the Astros." He said that those bets totaled "north of" $1M on the Astros to win the World Series (ESPN.com, 11/1). This comes after McIngvale on Tuesday "flew 98 Astros fans" to L.A. for World Series Game 6 (CHRON.com, 11/2).
GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT: Austin-based KXAN-NBC's Calily Bien reported 31 Houston-area Academy Sports & Outdoors locations reopened after Game 7 last night and stayed open "throughout the night" for Astros fans in search of World Series merchandise (KXAN.com, 11/1). Fans were "already in line" at an Academy store in Conroe, Texas, "when the final out was recorded." The line to "purchase Astros swag wrapped around the block" (CHRON.com, 11/2). A "line of excited and cheerful fans extended" far beyond the doors for the Academy location in Corpus Christi (CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES, 11/2).
