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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
III. Analyzing the
Communication Process
6. Source, Message, and
Channel Factors
Athletic-shoe companies have been using popular
athletes to endorse their products and serve
as advertising pitchmen for years. Traditionally
these companies would stay away from controversial
athletes and sign players with a clean-cut
image who could create a favorable association
for the product as well as the company. Superstars
such as Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Grant
Hill, and Kobe Bryant have been used by companies
such as Nike, Fila, and Adidas because of
their likable personalities and their image as positive
role models. However, in recent years many
athletic-shoe marketers have been moving away
from athletes with squeaky-clean images and hiring
spokespersons who are known as much for
their alleged misdeeds off the court or field as
for their accomplishments on it.
Among the first of the “bad-boy” pitchmen
was former basketball star Charles Barkley, who
appeared in a Nike commercial in the mid-90s in
which he glowered at the camera and declared,
“I am not a role model.” Basketball star Dennis
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Bad Boys Become Pitchmen for Athletic Shoes
Rodman was also able to parlay his irreverent and
rebellious image into an endorsement contract
with Nike, as well as a number of other companies,
although his antics eventually became too
much for most of these companies. The new generation
of bad-boy pitchmen includes NBA stars
such as Allan Iverson and Lattrell Sprewell as well
as retired athletes such as baseball star Pete Rose
and former Oakland Raider football players Ken
Stabler and Jack Tatum.
Iverson, who came into the NBA in 1996 as a
first-round draft pick, is among the best known
as well as the most controversial of the new generation
of endorsers. The Philadelphia 76ers star
is viewed by many as the poster boy for a generation
of unruly young players who many feel are
damaging the image of professional sports: a
rap-loving, inner-city type with too many tattoos,
a closet full of gang wear, and a history of run-ins
with the law and the league. Coca-Cola let a oneyear
deal with him lapse after he was arrested in
1997 on gun and drug charges and placed on
probation. However, Iverson led the 76ers to the
NBA finals in 2001 and was named the league’s
most valuable player, and he began changing his
image into a model of courage, toughness, caring,
and humility. In December 2001, Reebok
signed Iverson to a lifetime contract guaranteeing
him he would remain a Reebok endorser
throughout his pro career. The company began
developing an extensive line of Iverson’s signature
I-3 products as well as extensively promoting
his signature shoe, the Answer, by increasing his
role in print and TV ads. However, just seven
months later Iverson was charged with multiple
felonies after he allegedly went on a gunwielding
rampage in pursuit of his wife. Most of
the charges were later dropped and Reebok has
expressed unwavering support for Iverson.
Upstart basketball sneaker and apparel brand
And 1 also decided to go the bad-boy route by
hiring New York Knicks star Latrell Sprewell to