Last week Fox showed that cool Apple commercial during the NFC championship game. That was huge. When was the last time a Rox player made commercial appearance in an event like that? I suspect Ming will be in the superbowl commercial too, look for that visa commercial. VISA wasnt willing give out any information about it, I think it could very well be the superbowl commercial. Cant wait.
I beleive Hakeem was in a superbowl commerical back in the mid 90's. I remember pippen being in it too. That was the last superbowl commerical featuring a rocket i believe
Was that the VISA commercial as well. Hakeem said something funny in a banquet, pipen was trying to correct him. Dont remember exactly what was it about. Pipen was a bull though that time.
Yes he will be according to Dallas Morning News ======================================= NBA's Yao Ming: Is he the next big thing? 01/21/2003 By RICHARD ALM / The Dallas Morning News U.S. companies didn't take long to decide that a 7-foot-6-inch Chinese basketball star could generate enough excitement to sell products. Still in the first half of his rookie season with the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming struck his first two endorsement deals this month. He stars in a commercial for Apple Computer Co. and signed with another company for a Yao Ming interactive basketball game. More deals are in the works, including a commercial slated for Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVII on ABC. "Yao Ming will be one of the top five endorsement earners in the NBA this year," predicted Ray Clark, president of the Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based consultant. Mr. Yao, who visits Dallas with the Rockets for a Tuesday night game against the Mavericks, came to Texas after starring on the Chinese national team and the Shanghai Sharks. The NBA's No. 1 draft choice has proved skeptics wrong with his play during his rookie season, averaging almost 13 points and eight rebounds a game. With his fast start, Mr. Yao is the talk of the NBA this season. Internet sites – ************ .com, for example – celebrate his budding career. He's a top vote-getter for the NBA All-Star team. Even before showing his stuff on the court, Mr. Yao was a marketing phenomenon. The NBA latched onto him as a vehicle to pitch its sport in China. The Rockets built their marketing campaign around him, signing China's Yanjing Beer to a $1 million sponsorship package. Now the big center is moving beyond the role of icon for his league and team. He's generated enough buzz to attract marketing deals on his own. The Apple commercial, launched Friday, teams the towering Mr. Yao with diminutive Verne Troyer, the actor who plays Mini-Me in the Austin Powers films. The two men are seated side by side on an airplane, laptops open, and Mr. Yao with his 12-inch computer envies his companion's 17-inch machine as it plays the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Apple is paying Mr. Yao a mid-six-figure fee for appearing in the commercials, so he's well on his way to making $1 million off the court. That kind of money leads Mr. Clark to conclude that Mr. Yao could join the NBA starting lineup of endorsers that includes Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson and Vince Carter. A path to China Through the Marketing Arm's Talent Link division, Mr. Clark's company played a role in Mr. Yao's first commercial. At the behest of Apple's advertising agency, he negotiated the contract with Mr. Yao's agent and provided two staffers to accompany Mr. Yao on the Jan. 3 shoot. His status – he enjoys Jordan-style acclaim in China – will attract American companies looking to pitch their products in China. "A deal with Yao allows a global brand to take their message into China," Mr. Clark said. "Yao provides an opportunity no one else does." That's what Sorrent Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., a maker of games played on wireless devices, has in mind with its Yao Ming-branded game. It will debut in China in the first half of this year. Wireless users More than 200 million Chinese are wireless users, and the games are already popular there, so Sorrent figures Mr. Yao will be the perfect vehicle for attracting customers. "Yao is a phenomenal player with a huge following in his homeland China," said Sorrent president Isaac Babbs. The first deals are good fits with the marketing plan developed by Team Yao, the group managing the player's business interests, said Bill Sanders, director of marketing at Bill Duffy & Associates, Mr. Yao's agent. Team Yao wants him identified with technology products. "He doesn't drink, so you won't see that," Mr. Sanders said. "And there are certain competitors in a business where he has a preference for one product over the other. "That's important because the only way to get to his long-term potential is if he has credibility with the consumers." Still, standing tall as an icon in the world's most-populous country will take Mr. Yao only so far in the U.S. market. Even playing well might not catapult Mr. Yao into the big leagues in the endorsement game. Personality counts "He's got to demonstrate that he's a personality," said David Carter, principal in Los Angeles-based Sports Business Group. "His size and his nationality will make him well-known, but how he is able to communicate a message will determine how far he goes." His Rocket teammates say Mr. Yao is smart, funny and easygoing. On a national radio show, guard Cuttino Mobley described him as a "big, modest, kind-hearted dude." Mr. Clark echoes the Rockets' view that Mr. Yao is no more a stiff in the personality department than he is on the court. What he's hearing from companies is that Mr. Yao is telegenic, with a charm that comes across easily and effectively. Language barrier One other limiting factor: Mr. Yao relies on an interpreter for his public remarks, although he does speak some English with teammates. In the Apple commercial, Mr. Yao doesn't speak, and a narrator delivers the message. Mr. Yao's quick rise to prominence in the celebrity marketplace isn't a surprise, Mr. Clark said. "If you think of sports as the original reality television, stars can be made very quickly," he said. "Unfortunately for some of those celebrities, they can fade away just as quickly." Mr. Yao, though, will have staying power – if he fulfills the promise of becoming an NBA superstar. "Unlike most reality shows, sports is a recurring platform for its stars," Mr. Clark said. "It's a six-month season that comes back every year."
