Big Exposure for vitaminwater
"Size Matters (When You're Thirsty)."
That's the tagline for advertising to support vitaminwater's new partnership with Heat center Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal, who becomes a company partner and investor, is appearing on special 32-ounce bottles of power-c flavor, which will be available in stores later this month. That's not only a large bottle -- Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, Ladainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers, and David Wright of the New York Mets appear on 20-ounce bottles -- but it also reflects O'Neal's jersey number. Only three other athletes have vitaminwater bottles with their numbers on them: NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne, Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, and and Red Sox slugger David Ortiz.
URLACHER FINED
Meanwhile, the NFL has decided to fine Urlacher $100,000 for wearing a cap with the vitaminwater logo and sipping a bottle of the drink during Media Day at Super Bowl XLI in South Florida in January. The Glaceau brand water is not an official NFL sponsor; Gatorade is the league's sponsor. A fine for the same infraction would be $10,000 during the regular season, but shot up to $100,000 because of the exposure during the Super Bowl.
CRAIG DAVIS In more than 33 years at the Sun Sentinel, Craig Davis has written about a wide variety of sports topics from baseball to yachting, fishing to triathlons, and also worked as a copy editor and page designer. Recently he reported on local sports, including running, swimming, cycling, equestrian and beach volleyball. He enjoys sports as a participant as well as a spectator, is active in the South Florida running scene plays in the curling club at Saveology Iceplex. This blog offers a glimpse at the business side of sports in the interest of enhancing enjoyment of the games and sporting options as a spectator as well as a participant.
