Dwight Howard sick of the Kobe/LeBron ads

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James's new NBA playoff-themed ads for Nike (above) and Vitaminwater (below) have sparked a lot of excitement—particularly from Dwight Howard. But not in a good way. In a post on his blog, the Orlando Magic star says it's "really disrespectful that everybody seems to be pulling for LeBron and Kobe to get to the finals. ... It's like nobody is even giving us a shot at winning this series." He signs off by saying, "Aiiight, ya'll I guess I gotta go watch another one of these LeBron and Kobe commercials on TV. Naw, just kiddin." Dwight's got a point, but he should really pay more attention to where his elbows land than who's in what ad. That's the best way to make sure you're in next year's campaign.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on May 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Basketball, Kiefaber, Nike, Vitaminwater

Cheryl Hines' focus group for Vitaminwater

Cheryl Hines is one talented woman. Not only is she an accomplished star of stage and screen, she's a virtuoso when it comes to leading focus groups for Coca-Cola-owned non-carbonated beverages. This is gleaned from the video above, where she adroitly steers a Vitaminwater research session with a female consumer. Her inquiries about shirtless pilates instructors, in particular, reveal brand truths that would be inaccessible otherwise. The video was done on spec by marketing agency Ideocracy. And if Vitaminwater's not interested, maybe Hines has the makings of a sitcom character here. With the axe having fallen both on her show, ABC's In the Motherhood, and on TNT's ad drama Trust Me, the timing could be right.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on April 29, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Celebrity endorsements, Ideocracy, Nudd, Spec, Vitaminwater