Ray Lewis, after having an incredible year, and being named Superbowl MVP, is already being given the cold shoulder by the advertising commuinty. (He was charged with murder last year, but the charges were later dropped. He ended up with a misdemeanor for something). Disney chose not to use him for their now traditional, "... So what are you going to do now?" commercial. Wheaties has announced that he will not be put on their box. Is this right? Should they avoid him because of charges that were dropped? If they did use him, would it hurt their products? Note -- I don't remember much about the origional case, so anyone with more info, please post it. ------------------ Stay Cool...
I can understand why a company wouldn't use Ray for ads but he definitely deserves them. ------------------ Ceo of the Walt Williams fan club. Web site coming soon atheistalliance.org
i think disney should of just gave him the commercial. i mean, c'mon whats the big deal? the commercial will only air like 4 times. ------------------ http://www.democrats.com
Well, I'm torn. If he would've just been upfront with the cops in the first place none of this would've happened. However, the cops charged him knowing full well that he wasn't guilty of murder. ------------------ visit www.swirve.com, coming January 20th, the top 10 films of 2000! http://www.geocities.com/clutch34_2000 for great Rocket insight by some of your fellow BBS posters!
Ad agencies don't care whether the charges were dropped. And they shouldn't. There's a taint to Ray Lewis' name. Joe Consumer hears it and thinks (a) wasn't he involved in some murder investigation awhile back?, and (b) he's a pretty good linebacker who was just named Super Bowl MVP. In that order. I can see where a company wouldn't want itself associated with that. Of course part of the reason why Joe would think first about the murder investigation is that the media's made such a big deal out of it. Whether the media should sensationalize the case is another question entirely. ------------------ I am Jack's utter lack of surprise. www.clutchtown.com
Lewis ended up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and had other charges (including murder) dropped in the events surrounding the murder of 2 folks outside an Atlanta nightclub after the Super Bowl last year (there was a brawl which resulted in 2 deaths). He testified against two of his cohorts as a result of the plea bargain (who were found not guilty). Conflicting evidence exists to this day about Lewis's role in the killings. Evidence exists that he participated in the melee and threw at least a punch or two at the killed men. It's always hard to say whether or not he would hurt the product. The question is probably whether or not his endorsement (or lack thereof) would help MORE than hurt. I suspect that the company would lose more by affiliating with him, than they would lose by NOT affiliating with him. In other words, more people would say "I am not going to buy those Wheaties because Ray Lewis is on the box" than would say, "I am not going to buy those Wheaties because Ray Lewis is NOT on the box". My other thought is that Ray Lewis is a very good football player, but since he is a defensive player from Baltimore he is relatively obscure and that MOST people would not have known anything about his problems last year if they were not continually brought back up. I am not saying that is right or wrong, simply stating the obvious. ------------------
