ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010048
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MINNEAPOLIS
SOURCE: Associated Press
General Mills officials are auditioning the faces of Olympic dynamos such as Kerri Strug, Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson for the front of Wheaties cereal boxes.
With an average 50 agents a day calling to peddle their clients for the starring role, the cereal executives are well aware of the icon-like impact the endorsement - to be named Sunday - can have.
As of Wednesday, the short list was narrowed to 20 Olympians. The list also includes the entire women's gymnastics team, Amy Van Dyken, Dot Richardson, Tom Dolan and several others.
But wonders-in-the-making who shine before late Saturday night still have a shot, said spokesman David Dix.
``There's still a couple of days of competition left. It just depends on the performances,'' he said.
It also depends on a lot of market research and what the consultants say, said Marty Blackman of New York's Blackman and Raber, consultants to advertising agencies and corporations on sports personalities,
``Don't think they're going to pick someone out of a hat,'' he said.
General Mills says it uses two criteria for the next face or faces that appear on the orange ``Breakfast of Champions'' box: They have to be a champion, and they have to win the affection of the American public with their Olympic performance, Dix said.
``They have to capture that moment at the Olympics and are in a situation where they can tug on America's heart strings,'' he said.
They also have to be eligible - giving up their amateur status in order to accept financial endorsements.
As late as Tuesday, it wasn't known if Wheaties could even use Strug on its boxes. She has since announced that she will turn pro, barring her from a collegiate gymnastics career, but allowing her to take the Wheaties deal if it is sent her way.
After Strug's vault clinched America's first-ever women's team gold, speculation soon turned to her as the top contender for the cereal spot and calls from consumers started pouring into the Golden Valley, Minn., cereal maker, Dix said.
``I think she's been the buzz here, no matter what happens the rest of the way,'' said Stephen Disson, president of the D&F Group, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that represents 13 Olympic sponsors and helps companies decide which athletes to use in endorsements.
Disson said he would pick Strug first, nine-gold medal winner Lewis second and the entire women's gymnastics team third.
Whatever the pick, if history is any indication, sales for the box of flakes will improve with the introduction of a new athlete - typically 10 to 20 percent when an Olympian graces the box.
While General Mills won't reveal how much it pays its athletes, Dix said it's no secret that several other endorsements pay a lot more. But that hasn't kept them from snagging such greats as Bruce Jenner, Michael Jordan and Cal Ripken.
``I can't imagine any athlete - unless they had a contractual conflict - turning down the Wheaties box offer, just because of the prestige of it,'' Disson said.
After the choice is announced at a news conference with Mary Lou Retton and Bruce Jenner in Atlanta Sunday, General Mills will start stuffing the new Olympian boxes. They should be on supermarket shelves nationwide within seven days, Dix said.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP FILE. You might see U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug on yourby CNBcereal box.|