lawrence dennis
July 5th, 2005, 11:08 AM
Rapper 50 Cent sings a song of business success (http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-07-04-fifty-cent-usat_x.htm)
NEW YORK — After topping the music charts with tracks such as Candy Shop and In Da Club, rapper 50 Cent is looking to become a hit on Madison Avenue with his good looks, bulging biceps, "gangsta" image and hard-knocks success story. Among the places you'll see 50 Cent — given name Curtis Jackson — as a pitchman in the next several months will be in ads starting this week for his own flavor of upscale Glacéau Vitaminwater.
The man ... shows a softer side in the Glacéau ads. In a vote of confidence in the a breadth of appeal, Glacéau will feature him in ads in a range of magazines — from men's magazines Maxim and FHM to hip-hop journal Vibe to high-society title Town & Country— as well as on big-city bus wraps and billboards.
The ads promote Formula 50, a grape-flavor water with 50% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins, which he helped concoct last year. Glacéau approached him after learning he's a fan of their other designer waters. In the ads, 50 Cent reads The Wall Street Journal, retrieves the mail at his Connecticut home, records in a studio and works out at a gym. The ads are designed to show that Glacéau is part of his daily routine.
But the ads raise the question: Is the real 50 Cent the street rapper or the businessman? ..
In August, he'll launch a line of watches under his G-Unit brand with Jacob & Co., a custom jeweler to the stars run by owner and designer Jacob Arabo (a.k.a. Jacob the Jeweler). One of the watches — priced at $299 to $3,500 — includes an MP3 player.
Coming up are a book and movie about 50 Cent's rough life growing up in Queens. The book, From Pieces to Weight, is due in August; the movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin', is due in November.
Beginning Saturday, 50 Cent and Eminem will kick off their multicity Anger Management tour. Glacéau will use the concerts to hand out Formula 50 samples. The effort — dubbed Hydrate or Die Tryin' — is a play on 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' debut album.
Reebok ads for its GXT II shoe show 50 Cent with such athletes as the NFL's Donovan McNabb. Reebok also sells shoes and apparel under the G-Unit brand....
It was in a Reebok ad last year that Glacéau marketers discovered 50 Cent's taste for their waters.
"The biggest thing for us is that 50 drinks Glacéau because it works for him," says Rohan Oza, Glacéau's marketing chief....
Madison Ave. has ear for rap (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-07-04-madison-sidebar_x.htm)
Conventional wisdom says all athletes want to be entertainers and all entertainers want to be athletes. Just ask rappers getting into the sneaker and endorsement business.... Pony up
Remember Pony, the athletic brand worn in the 1970s by Larry Holmes, Reggie Jackson and John Havlicek? [No.--L.D.] Former Nike executive Killick Datta, owner of Global Brand Marketing, is trying to bring Pony back to prominence.
One of his first moves was signing Snoop Dogg to push his own line of shoes. Snoop scored a publicity coup by presenting Jay Leno with a pair of his "Doggie Biscuitz" on NBC's Tonight Show.
With Snoop's signature line expanding to more than 1,000 stores in July, Datta predicts it will generate $10 million in sales.
Urban shoe brands
Urban shoe brands are more about fashion than sports. These companies say Reebok is copying something they've done for years: using rappers as spokespeople. DaDa founder Lavetta Willis says lifestyle shoes are selling better than performance basketball shoes.
Lugz has "catapulted" its sales using rap endorsers, executive vice president Larry Schwartz says. [jew alert--L.D.] In the last few years, the company has sold more than 3 million pairs of signature kicks from DJ Funkmaster Flex and Birdman at $70-$90 a pair. [that's a lot of shekels--L.D.]
"We had the insight that role models are changing to rappers from athletes," Schwartz says.
The 411
Can rappers sell cell phones? Yes, according to Boost Mobile, a division of Nextel that targets younger consumers with pay-as-you-go wireless phone and entertainment services.
Boost uses Eve, The Game, Ludacris, Kanye West and Fat Joe in ads to tout mobile phones. It will continue to use rappers to reach younger phone users.
"In the past, athletes were role models to the youth. Today it's the entertainers, particularly the hip-hop artists, who are at the forefront of inspiration," says Lisa Spiritus, director of entertainment marketing.
Rappers sample athletes' turf (http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-07-04-rap-endorsements_x.htm)
... "Athletes are seasonal. Our presence is yearround," says the ex-drug dealer turned rap mogul who survived nine bullet wounds from a shooting in 2000. "The major corporations see how lucrative it is to do business with us."
NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is co-starring with his fellow Reebok endorser in a new TV spot promoting 50 Cent's GXT II cross-training shoe. The Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro is a rising endorsement star with deals for Campbell Soup, Lincoln Financial and Reebok. But he notes the rapper invasion is viewed askance in locker rooms.
"Obviously, as an athlete you want all the deals to come to you," McNabb says.
Hip-hop endorsers are part of the growing fusion of sports and music. Rap mogul Jay-Z owns a piece of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. The NFL and NBA stage huge concerts before their biggest events.
Rappers are banging on corporation doors, looking for shoe deals the way basketball players did in the 1980s and '90s.
The "casual shoes" they endorse, used more for fashion than sports, have emerged as the fastest growing piece of the $17 billion athletic footwear pie....
But hiring rappers can be a double-edged sword. Companies gamble their new celebrity faces won't get them in hot water for violent, sexually explicit or misogynistic lyrics. Reebok was forced to pull its 50 Cent commercial in Great Britain because of complaints that it glorified gun violence. McDonald's was panned this year for offering rappers a bounty of $1 to $5 each time a song mentioning "Big Mac" aired on the radio.
Still, publicity disasters such as NBA star Kobe Bryant's rape trial continue to turn the tide toward entertainers. "We see corporations looking more for entertainers than athletes because of the behavior and instability of athletes at the highest levels," says Bob Williams, CEO of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing, who represents companies searching for celebrity endorsers.
50 Cent's debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', sold more than 11 million copies. The rapper takes his role as front man for the "G-Unit Collection by Rbk" (named for his G-Unit record label) seriously. The Eminem protégé wears his signature kicks constantly. He views his music videos as potential "three-minute commercials."...
Blame it on Madison Avenue's obsession with reaching 18- to 34-year-old consumers. Consumers 12-24 years old generated 40% of sports apparel purchases in 2004, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA). Rap stars provide a "street credibility" that many sports stars lack, says Bob Dorfman [jew alert--L.D.] who rates the endorsement potential of current athletes.
"Jay-Z's shoe is more successful than that of most athletes," says Dorfman, creative director at Pickett Advertising in San Francisco....
Marketers are spending more money on a shrinking pool of elite athletes. A handful of stars such as Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Alex Rodriguez can write their own tickets, according to Brandon Steiner, [jew alert--L.D.] founder of Steiner Sports Marketing, who plays matchmaker between athletes and endorsers. However, the next level of players behind them are starving for deals.
"The big names want six figures and up. And they're picky," Steiner says.
Most rappers have no qualms about working with sponsors for product placement in their songs, music videos and tours, says Lavetta Willis, president of DaDa. While rappers have long been the cheaper alternative to jocks, that's changing fast, she adds....
NEW YORK — After topping the music charts with tracks such as Candy Shop and In Da Club, rapper 50 Cent is looking to become a hit on Madison Avenue with his good looks, bulging biceps, "gangsta" image and hard-knocks success story. Among the places you'll see 50 Cent — given name Curtis Jackson — as a pitchman in the next several months will be in ads starting this week for his own flavor of upscale Glacéau Vitaminwater.
The man ... shows a softer side in the Glacéau ads. In a vote of confidence in the a breadth of appeal, Glacéau will feature him in ads in a range of magazines — from men's magazines Maxim and FHM to hip-hop journal Vibe to high-society title Town & Country— as well as on big-city bus wraps and billboards.
The ads promote Formula 50, a grape-flavor water with 50% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins, which he helped concoct last year. Glacéau approached him after learning he's a fan of their other designer waters. In the ads, 50 Cent reads The Wall Street Journal, retrieves the mail at his Connecticut home, records in a studio and works out at a gym. The ads are designed to show that Glacéau is part of his daily routine.
But the ads raise the question: Is the real 50 Cent the street rapper or the businessman? ..
In August, he'll launch a line of watches under his G-Unit brand with Jacob & Co., a custom jeweler to the stars run by owner and designer Jacob Arabo (a.k.a. Jacob the Jeweler). One of the watches — priced at $299 to $3,500 — includes an MP3 player.
Coming up are a book and movie about 50 Cent's rough life growing up in Queens. The book, From Pieces to Weight, is due in August; the movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin', is due in November.
Beginning Saturday, 50 Cent and Eminem will kick off their multicity Anger Management tour. Glacéau will use the concerts to hand out Formula 50 samples. The effort — dubbed Hydrate or Die Tryin' — is a play on 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin' debut album.
Reebok ads for its GXT II shoe show 50 Cent with such athletes as the NFL's Donovan McNabb. Reebok also sells shoes and apparel under the G-Unit brand....
It was in a Reebok ad last year that Glacéau marketers discovered 50 Cent's taste for their waters.
"The biggest thing for us is that 50 drinks Glacéau because it works for him," says Rohan Oza, Glacéau's marketing chief....
Madison Ave. has ear for rap (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-07-04-madison-sidebar_x.htm)
Conventional wisdom says all athletes want to be entertainers and all entertainers want to be athletes. Just ask rappers getting into the sneaker and endorsement business.... Pony up
Remember Pony, the athletic brand worn in the 1970s by Larry Holmes, Reggie Jackson and John Havlicek? [No.--L.D.] Former Nike executive Killick Datta, owner of Global Brand Marketing, is trying to bring Pony back to prominence.
One of his first moves was signing Snoop Dogg to push his own line of shoes. Snoop scored a publicity coup by presenting Jay Leno with a pair of his "Doggie Biscuitz" on NBC's Tonight Show.
With Snoop's signature line expanding to more than 1,000 stores in July, Datta predicts it will generate $10 million in sales.
Urban shoe brands
Urban shoe brands are more about fashion than sports. These companies say Reebok is copying something they've done for years: using rappers as spokespeople. DaDa founder Lavetta Willis says lifestyle shoes are selling better than performance basketball shoes.
Lugz has "catapulted" its sales using rap endorsers, executive vice president Larry Schwartz says. [jew alert--L.D.] In the last few years, the company has sold more than 3 million pairs of signature kicks from DJ Funkmaster Flex and Birdman at $70-$90 a pair. [that's a lot of shekels--L.D.]
"We had the insight that role models are changing to rappers from athletes," Schwartz says.
The 411
Can rappers sell cell phones? Yes, according to Boost Mobile, a division of Nextel that targets younger consumers with pay-as-you-go wireless phone and entertainment services.
Boost uses Eve, The Game, Ludacris, Kanye West and Fat Joe in ads to tout mobile phones. It will continue to use rappers to reach younger phone users.
"In the past, athletes were role models to the youth. Today it's the entertainers, particularly the hip-hop artists, who are at the forefront of inspiration," says Lisa Spiritus, director of entertainment marketing.
Rappers sample athletes' turf (http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2005-07-04-rap-endorsements_x.htm)
... "Athletes are seasonal. Our presence is yearround," says the ex-drug dealer turned rap mogul who survived nine bullet wounds from a shooting in 2000. "The major corporations see how lucrative it is to do business with us."
NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb is co-starring with his fellow Reebok endorser in a new TV spot promoting 50 Cent's GXT II cross-training shoe. The Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro is a rising endorsement star with deals for Campbell Soup, Lincoln Financial and Reebok. But he notes the rapper invasion is viewed askance in locker rooms.
"Obviously, as an athlete you want all the deals to come to you," McNabb says.
Hip-hop endorsers are part of the growing fusion of sports and music. Rap mogul Jay-Z owns a piece of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. The NFL and NBA stage huge concerts before their biggest events.
Rappers are banging on corporation doors, looking for shoe deals the way basketball players did in the 1980s and '90s.
The "casual shoes" they endorse, used more for fashion than sports, have emerged as the fastest growing piece of the $17 billion athletic footwear pie....
But hiring rappers can be a double-edged sword. Companies gamble their new celebrity faces won't get them in hot water for violent, sexually explicit or misogynistic lyrics. Reebok was forced to pull its 50 Cent commercial in Great Britain because of complaints that it glorified gun violence. McDonald's was panned this year for offering rappers a bounty of $1 to $5 each time a song mentioning "Big Mac" aired on the radio.
Still, publicity disasters such as NBA star Kobe Bryant's rape trial continue to turn the tide toward entertainers. "We see corporations looking more for entertainers than athletes because of the behavior and instability of athletes at the highest levels," says Bob Williams, CEO of Burns Entertainment and Sports Marketing, who represents companies searching for celebrity endorsers.
50 Cent's debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', sold more than 11 million copies. The rapper takes his role as front man for the "G-Unit Collection by Rbk" (named for his G-Unit record label) seriously. The Eminem protégé wears his signature kicks constantly. He views his music videos as potential "three-minute commercials."...
Blame it on Madison Avenue's obsession with reaching 18- to 34-year-old consumers. Consumers 12-24 years old generated 40% of sports apparel purchases in 2004, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA). Rap stars provide a "street credibility" that many sports stars lack, says Bob Dorfman [jew alert--L.D.] who rates the endorsement potential of current athletes.
"Jay-Z's shoe is more successful than that of most athletes," says Dorfman, creative director at Pickett Advertising in San Francisco....
Marketers are spending more money on a shrinking pool of elite athletes. A handful of stars such as Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Alex Rodriguez can write their own tickets, according to Brandon Steiner, [jew alert--L.D.] founder of Steiner Sports Marketing, who plays matchmaker between athletes and endorsers. However, the next level of players behind them are starving for deals.
"The big names want six figures and up. And they're picky," Steiner says.
Most rappers have no qualms about working with sponsors for product placement in their songs, music videos and tours, says Lavetta Willis, president of DaDa. While rappers have long been the cheaper alternative to jocks, that's changing fast, she adds....