
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990                   TAG: 9003232092
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PARENTS JUMP REEBOK; TV AD GOES OVERBOARD

Only a couple of days after a new Reebok ad made its debut, the sight of two young men jumping off a bridge just became too much for the public - and the sneaker manufacturer - to handle.

Citing criticism from angry parents who phoned the company this week, Reebok International Ltd. said Wednesday that it had decided to pull a commercial for its pricey Pump shoe off the air.

The commercial, created by Manhattan's Chiat-Day-Mojo, shows two young men diving off a bridge to which they are tethered. The one wearing Reebok's $169.95 Pump shoe jerks to safety just short of the water. At the end of the other lifeline, there's only a pair of empty Nike shoes.

Some critics called the new commercial a bad influence on teen-agers who might be tempted to try similarly dangerous stunts.

by CNB