I think it's easy to see Pepsi's behind this lawsuit. It's a conflict of interests for the Chinese national team to be sponsored by Coke while Yao, a member of that team, is an official Pepsi representative. It's similar to the year Reebok was an official sponsor of our Dream Team that included guys like Jordan, posterboy for Nike. You may recall Jordan draping the US flag over his Reebok warmups in order to hide the Reebok logo.
STOP POSTING NOOOOWWWW!!!! Yao is not only a great guy but he is also a freaking SAINT. He is the Chosen One - all that and a bag of chips. The other guys you just mentioned are just pawns or rather trade baits.
http://www.times-press.com/newsmain.php?storyid=5572 Pedelty: No Coke & a smile for Yao By J.T. PEDELTY — Sports Reporter Which comes first – the team or the individual athlete? The recent success of world champions such as the Anaheim Angels last year or the New England Patriots a couple Super Bowls ago seems to have answered the question definitively on the field. Even the Cubs this season are showing that playing like a team is a recipe for success, even if they don’t show it quite as often as we Cubbie fans might like. But it can be hard to convince individual players that there is no “I” in “team.” (But, as the old saying goes, there is an “Ewok” in “teamwork.”) You’d be shocked how some of the kids on my Pony League baseball team groan every time I suggest we go over bunting in practice. You’d be scared at the threatening chaos which builds in their eyes when I dare to flash a bunt sign during a game. Not all the kids do this, mind you, but a good enough percentage to mention. The newest chapter in the “me vs. team” argument comes, from all places, communist China. Coca-Cola China is being sued by NBA superstar Yao Ming for putting Ming’s picture on commemorative Coke bottles and marketing them in Ming’s hometown of Shanghai. Ming has an endorsement deal with Pepsi, but Coca-Cola China has a contract with the Chinese National Team, on which Ming played last year. Ming’s suing, arguing that the company is infringing on his personal name and image rights. For their part, Coca-Cola China is arguing that their contract allows them to show any three members of the team, which the bottle does, with Ming pictured alongside the Spurs’ Menk Bateer and Chinese player Guo Shiqiang. This brings up many obvious questions about the tenets of national communism. I thought communism was supposed to take care of all this “me-first” thinking? All for the good of the people, or so the brochure said. And I realize that Coke is certainly “it,” but how does a gigantic corporation like Coca-Cola even exist in a communist state like China? Isn’t Coca-Cola exactly the kind of big business that communism – in theory – was designed to combat? The faults of communism aside, you just know that a big, high-profile, “American-style” lawsuit like this is exactly the reason China dragged its heels so long before allowing Ming to come play in the NBA – well, that, and to save us all from that horrible VISA check card commercial. (Can I write check? Yo! Yao! Yo! Yao!) And if any national sport is going to give a guy a big head, it’s the star-driven NBA, which markets its superstars much more vigorously than its top teams. Fortunately, Ming isn’t letting it all get to his head, despite the bad commercials. The best thing about this lawsuit is that Ming is suing Coca-Cola China for two things – an apology in the Chinese media and one “yuan,” which equates in today’s marketplace to about 12 cents American money. I don’t know anything about the legal questions surrounding this case, but the amount he’s suing for alone makes me hope that Ming wins this case. Who would have expected such selflessness from any NBA player, much less a superstar? How much do you think Kobe Bryant would sue Pro-Wings for if they just ignored his multi-million dollar shoe contract and started putting his picture on Pro-Wing shoeboxes? Enough to make them say “Yo!” and “Ow!” I’d wager. J.T. Pedelty is an award-winning columnist and sports reporter at his hometown newspaper, The Times-Press. If you have any questions or comments – about anything from sports to the role of communism in the modern world – you can reach J.T. by mail (115 Oak St., Streator, IL, 61364), by telephone (673-3771) or via e-mail (jtp@times-press.com).
It's just another matter of personal endorsement versus a team endorsement. I remember in the 1992 Olympics when Jordan refused to wear the Reebok team warm-ups because it conflicted with his famous endorsement from Nike. That kind of problem really doesn't really exist anymore because i think most consumers realize the diffreence between the two types of deals. We've seen Yao wear his Reebok Rockets warm-ups because Reebok happens to have the right to produce most official NBA products. You don't see Nike b****ing about it because people notice the shoes more than a jacket he wears on the becn, mostly off camera. It's sort of unrelated, but Mr. T is b****ing at Blockbuster for that hillarious commercial featuring him getting his ass literally kicked by a fat bald man. I'm pretty sure Blockbuster obtained permission from United Artist, the owners of Rocky III, to use that image, in which case Mr. T has no case since his image bemongs to the movie. I think Yao should let it go, as long as Coke does not show him holding and smiling with a bottle in his hand.
Could be double wammy. PepsiCo Hasn't Ruled Out Action Vs Coke Over Yao Ads -FT Dow Jones International News - 05/28/2003 SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) hasn't ruled out taking action against Coca-Cola Co. (KO) for using the image of Chinese basketball star Yao Ming on Coke bottles in China, the Financial Times reported on its Web site Wednesday. Coca-Cola's program threatens to dilute the impact of PepsiCo's own promotions with Yao, which were announced this year, the report said. Yao agreed to pitch PepsiCo's Gatorade sports drink in the U.S. and will be a part of Pepsi-Cola's promotions in China later this year, the report said. Coca-Cola has said its three-year sponsorship contract with the Chinese Basketball Association allows the company to use the images of its men's basketball team, of which Yao is a member, to sell drinks in China. Yao, a center for the Houston Rockets team, is featured on bottles with two other CBA players. Yao filed a lawsuit against Coca-Cola's Chinese unit in Shanghai last week to ban the company from using his image. "Pepsi's waiting to see what the impact will be on its own promotions," the report quoted a person close to PepsiCo as saying. The report also cited Kelly Brooks, a Coca-Cola spokesman, as saying the company hopes the situation will be resolved amicably. Citing people close to the company, the report said while Coca-Cola believes it is right in using Yao's image, it will probably phase out the current promotions to avoid further bad publicity. (Copyright (c) 2003, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
J.T. Pedelty is a prick and a compound 1diot. What is with the player hating and playa hating J.T.? Get a freaking wife or dog or cat or swine or maybe a Job.
