AirTran has bumpy ride with Michael Vick

Sometimes I wonder if celebrity-athlete endorsers really use the products. It seems highly unlikely that Michael Jordan ever ordered off the Dollar Menu. The more downmarket the product, the more unlikely that multimillionaires are customers. I would have thought the same about Atlanta Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, who has done ads for AirTran Airways over the past couple of years. But it turns out the QB with the $100 million contract really does fly AirTran. Only problem is, on an AirTran flight from Miami to Atlanta last week, Vick was discovered with a water bottle that smelled a lot like pot—and contained a compartment with “a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana.” Marijuana or not, I suspect AirTran will be on the hunt for a new spokesman when Vick’s contract is up later this year.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

January 22, 2007 in Morrissey | Permalink