Nike And The U.S. Open Break Out All The Tricks To Promote This Year's Tournament

Monday, August 25, 2008


Now far be it from me to poke fun at a Tournament that is trying its hardest to let people know it's right around the corner, but when you employ Don King and the WWE to do so....I have to comment. The U.S. Open is getting underway today, but the past few weeks have been rather interesting in the way of PR for the matches in Flushing, New York.

First up was Nike's campaign hyping the potential final matchup of Nadal v. Federer. The Swoosh decided to turn the potential meeting into a pseudo-weigh in for the two Tennis stars and even brought in Don King to do what Don King does. Hype. Via the Telegraph....

King, speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, revealed his “delight” at being called up to promote one of the greatest sporting rivalries on the planet. “You had the 'Thrilla in Manila’, you had the 'Rumble in the Jungle’ now we have the 'Grapple in the Apple’. We gonna take it to the moon. They try to pretend to be friends. But they’re no kin and they’re gonna bend. They got to be competitive.”

King, getting into character, insisted in his idiolect that the US Open would be “free of trickeration”. Tennis may never be the same. But nor would boxing have had some of its most memorable nights without the genius of King.
As annoying as King is, that's pretty clever and that poster is pretty spot on. You would think that "stunt" was enough, but oh no, they weren't done there. "Hey, Let's try to use the most obvious avenue to cross promote the Tourney. Why of course that's the WWE!"



Well then.....that was special. The collaboration between WWE and the U.S. Open isn't anything new, but I think it's safe to say that having a wrestler jump off a judges chair onto a tennis player is taking it to another level.

'Apple Grapple' brings a gleam to Don King's eye (Telegraph)

7 Comments:

Wow! Don King in the tennis world. It's a juxtaposition I am trying to take in. Well, he's a promoter...although I didn't think the US Open needed it...or him.

California Girl said...
Aug 25, 2008, 12:25:00 PM  

Great point CG. The tournament is a huge draw in NYC every year and the players are treated like rock stars there.

Plus Serena Williams' outfit choices will give them enough press alone.

Aug 25, 2008, 12:54:00 PM  

The Undertaker is the ONLY thing that makes Andy Roddick interesting.

GMoney said...
Aug 25, 2008, 1:29:00 PM  

"Wow! Don King in the tennis world."

No wonder there have been so many fixed tennis matches recently.
*allegedly*

Anonymous said...
Aug 25, 2008, 3:10:00 PM  

Call me when the Williams' sisters are in an Oreo cookies 'lick race' commercial.

Anonymous said...
Aug 25, 2008, 5:49:00 PM  

Was that sarcastic Anon? Because if not...that's pretty scary.

The next U.S. Open cross promotion is with the Manning Bros.....seriously.

Aug 25, 2008, 5:51:00 PM  

Sky Sports is a cable network in England. I didn't think tennis needed that type of promoting across the pond. I doubt we will see those ads here in the US because Monday Night Raw was televised on the SciFi channel tonight.

Gonzo said...
Aug 26, 2008, 1:33:00 AM  

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