Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406290125
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
The sports equipment maker feels Daly has recovered and will be a standout on the course and a powerful draw in its commercials for golf balls, clubs, bags, hats and gloves for the next decade.
But the timing of the announcement was ironic as it came while Americans watched the disintegration of the affable image of athlete-pitchman O.J. Simpson, who faces charges he murdered his ex-wife and one of her friends.
The commercial marriage between Simpson and the Hertz car rental company had been one of the industry's most successful and enduring relations but has now collapsed with little hope of revival no matter how his case turns out.
The Simpson episode offered another cautionary tale to Madison Avenue about the heavy risks of using celebrities as commercial spokesmen.
Reminders of the fragility of those links abound in recent years. Pepsi-Cola Co. pulled a commercial featuring Madonna when people confused it with her music video that enraged religious groups. Boxer Mike Tyson's marriage to Robin Givens ended shortly after they playfully appeared in another Pepsi ad.
The Florida Citrus Commission dropped Burt Reynolds as an orange juice spokesman as unsavory details of his marriage to Loni Anderson came out in divorce proceedings.
But advertisers embrace athletes and other celebrities anyway.
``It's a powerful way to bring interest into your commercial. There are so many products that have no difference over their competitors,'' said talent broker David Burns, who sees a trend toward ``not-so-safe'' celebrities. O
``Business is about taking risks,'' said John Riccitiello, president and chief executive of Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods. ``If we stayed home and did nothing, we'd go out of business.''
Daly, the longest hitter on the pro golf tour and one of its biggest attractions, has been under contract for three years to Wilson.
In December 1992, he began three weeks of alcohol rehabilitation and has said he has been sober since. He was suspended from the tour in November 1993 for failing to turn in a properly completed score card at a tournament in Hawaii. Two similar incidents had occurred earlier.
by CNB