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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12746676p-13598345c.html
Bob Shallit: Peja back making a pitch for products
By Bob Shallit -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, April 18, 2005
Peja Stojakovic is back.
No, we're not talking three-point percentages, rebounds or hustle. That's for the sports section.
This is business. We're assessing Peja today as a celebrity pitchman. A product endorser.
His appeal in that department went down - way, way down - last year after he showed up for training camp, pronounced himself unhappy as a Sacramento King and asked to be traded to another team.
You may recall he had just signed a big contract to become the face of Paradyme Sound & Vision. The chain planned magazine ads showing Peja off the court, surrounded by the best in home electronics. In-store posters were made. Paradyme even planned to "wrap" its vehicles with giant images of the player.
Then Peja started talking about leaving. Paradyme's brass freaked.
"There was too much turmoil, too much uncertainty," says Leon SooHoo, Paradyme's founder. The company canceled the vehicle wraps and decided not to extend the contract beyond the initial one-year deal.
"When a player gets to the point where he says he's unhappy and wants to be traded, from an advertising perspective, it gives you pause," Soohoo says.
Others felt the same way. "Radioactive" is too strong a word, but, forgive the alliteration, Peja's pitchman potential plummeted.
Now, though, the tide is turning.
One sign is a new ad campaign by Hamilton Jewelers. The ads, set to run in Fork It and Prosper magazines, picture Peja in suits and designer shirts. And, of course, wearing pricey timepieces.
They're a little like the Paradyme ads, that showed the ballplayer lounging in a finely appointed Granite Bay home filled with the best in home electronics.
Both campaigns break from the predictable way most companies use athletes. You know, standing in uniform, bouncing a ball and woodenly reading a script. "Sacramento Motors is the place for a slam dunk deal."
Boring.
These new spots show a ballplayer as a person, with a life off the court. They're more respectful of the player. And put the product in a better light.
"Peja's more than one dimensional," says Hamilton VP Daniel Farley, explaining his take on the campaign. "Obviously, he's an athlete, but he's also elegant, charming, articulate - more than what people expect from an athlete."
Hamilton has been using Peja in ads for a year. His comments at training camp concerned the firm for a time. But, unlike Paradyme, it opted to proceed.
"We sort of had inside information that he would stay (a King)," Farley says.
The company is even using Peja in ads promoting its store in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Other firms also are planning campaigns around Peja. They include furniture outlets and auto dealers, says Andrea Lepore, Stojakovic's public relations director. She's not divulging any names yet.
But none of them, she says, seems at all concerned that Peja will suddenly start talking trade again once the season ends. It's a non-issue, Lepore insists, except among us media types.
In fact, she says Peja is at the peak of his popularity. He's listed among the top players on ESPN's NBA Web site. He's a local fan favorite. "He's the 'it' guy in town," she says.
And plenty of companies want to be associated with him.
But what will Lepore say if an advertiser asks Peja to put on a jersey and shorts, spin the ball and talk up their product? Simple response. "We don't do cheesy," she says.
Bob Shallit: Peja back making a pitch for products
By Bob Shallit -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, April 18, 2005
Peja Stojakovic is back.
No, we're not talking three-point percentages, rebounds or hustle. That's for the sports section.
This is business. We're assessing Peja today as a celebrity pitchman. A product endorser.
His appeal in that department went down - way, way down - last year after he showed up for training camp, pronounced himself unhappy as a Sacramento King and asked to be traded to another team.
You may recall he had just signed a big contract to become the face of Paradyme Sound & Vision. The chain planned magazine ads showing Peja off the court, surrounded by the best in home electronics. In-store posters were made. Paradyme even planned to "wrap" its vehicles with giant images of the player.
Then Peja started talking about leaving. Paradyme's brass freaked.
"There was too much turmoil, too much uncertainty," says Leon SooHoo, Paradyme's founder. The company canceled the vehicle wraps and decided not to extend the contract beyond the initial one-year deal.
"When a player gets to the point where he says he's unhappy and wants to be traded, from an advertising perspective, it gives you pause," Soohoo says.
Others felt the same way. "Radioactive" is too strong a word, but, forgive the alliteration, Peja's pitchman potential plummeted.
Now, though, the tide is turning.
One sign is a new ad campaign by Hamilton Jewelers. The ads, set to run in Fork It and Prosper magazines, picture Peja in suits and designer shirts. And, of course, wearing pricey timepieces.
They're a little like the Paradyme ads, that showed the ballplayer lounging in a finely appointed Granite Bay home filled with the best in home electronics.
Both campaigns break from the predictable way most companies use athletes. You know, standing in uniform, bouncing a ball and woodenly reading a script. "Sacramento Motors is the place for a slam dunk deal."
Boring.
These new spots show a ballplayer as a person, with a life off the court. They're more respectful of the player. And put the product in a better light.
"Peja's more than one dimensional," says Hamilton VP Daniel Farley, explaining his take on the campaign. "Obviously, he's an athlete, but he's also elegant, charming, articulate - more than what people expect from an athlete."
Hamilton has been using Peja in ads for a year. His comments at training camp concerned the firm for a time. But, unlike Paradyme, it opted to proceed.
"We sort of had inside information that he would stay (a King)," Farley says.
The company is even using Peja in ads promoting its store in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Other firms also are planning campaigns around Peja. They include furniture outlets and auto dealers, says Andrea Lepore, Stojakovic's public relations director. She's not divulging any names yet.
But none of them, she says, seems at all concerned that Peja will suddenly start talking trade again once the season ends. It's a non-issue, Lepore insists, except among us media types.
In fact, she says Peja is at the peak of his popularity. He's listed among the top players on ESPN's NBA Web site. He's a local fan favorite. "He's the 'it' guy in town," she says.
And plenty of companies want to be associated with him.
But what will Lepore say if an advertiser asks Peja to put on a jersey and shorts, spin the ball and talk up their product? Simple response. "We don't do cheesy," she says.
