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)

Okay, Nike has done it again and whoever came up with this idea is a freaking genius. The new campaign is called "Train Like LT" and features LaDanian Tomlinson heading over to Kimbo Slice's house to train the "old school way". Via Yardbarker....

First of all, that car that LT rolls up in is badass. Second, when Kimbo swung the freezer door open, I just lost it. Outside of that "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" ad, I can't think of one Nike has put out there that hasn't been awesome. Great work again, Swooshers.

First Look at Nike's New "Train Like LT" Campaign with Kimbo Slice (Yardbarker)

Marvin Gaye performed one of the best live renditions of the National Anthem back at the 1983 NBA All Star Game in Los Angeles and Nike has decided to use it for a new Team USA commercial. Via Fanhouse....

Goosebumps. There's a 30-second version and a 60-second version that you will begin seeing on 08-08-08 as well as a two and a half minute version of the commercial will air on August 5th. That extended version will follow the final episode of “Road To Redemption presented by NIKE” on ESPN2.

Marvin Gaye + USA Basketball = Chills (Fanhouse)
Just Do It: Marvin Gaye (Inside Nike)

I passed on this story last week because it didn't seem that noteworthy, but that was until today. A few people got upset with the "homophobic nature" of a few of Wieden+Kennedy's latest efforts for Nike's "Hyperdunk" shoes and the company has in turn pulled a few of the ads....

Nike is strongly opposed to discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting athletes regardless of their sexual orientation. The advertisement in question is based purely upon a common insight from within the game of basketball - the athletic feat of dunking on the opposition, and is not intended to be offensive.

However, after listening to concerns expressed around specific executions, we have decided to drop them from the campaign to underline our ongoing commitment to supporting diversity in sport and the workplace.

Nike has a strong record of support for diversity and is proud to have been honored with a 100 percent score over several consecutive years in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.

I really have no idea how this spiraled out of control, but Nike has pulled the three ads seen within this post. While some sites like Out Sports don't seem to find a problem, in the end it's a good move. The ads seemed like a sloppy effort at best and certainly could be taken as perpetuating stereotypes. That's not something we need more of in Sports these days.


Nike drops three Hyperdunk ads (Oregon Live)
Some Nike crotch-to-the-face ads are catching "homophobic" heat (Out Sports)

Obviously with the mass amount of ads that Nike produces not all are going to be winners but I think they've got another hit with this one. This is the "Courage" ad you'll be seeing all throughout the Olympics....

I'm a sucker for good music, a ton of athletes and random flowers blooming, so they had me at the jump. I'm curious if this type of ad is wearing on people or if you're enjoying them as much as me. In the past year we've had the "My Better" one, the Jackson/Merriman "Leave Nothing" one, and the Guy Ritchie "Next Level" one. Keep it coming Nike.

Everyone remember the Kobe jumping the car video that was released on the Internet, well he's got another one out now. This time it's the Black Mamba jumping over a pool of snakes, but not before the guys from Jackass have some fun with the pool first.....

Man, they couldn't have made that look more fake if they tried, but that was still rather entertaining. Keep them coming Kobe.

Kobe and the Jackass crew (Ball Don't Lie)

I honestly don't mind most of the Lebron James commercials. The lawyer one was funny and the "Lebrons" ones were kind of cute. Well these "Witness" ones aren't funny or cute and they're really starting to creep me out. Here's the latest Nike spot....

I personally think Lebron is lazy and doesn't try as hard as he could, but that's irrelevant here. When did we start comparing him to the second coming of Jesus? This is just a little much for my tastes.

LeBron James' new 'Witness Stand' commercial (Ball Don't Lie)
Witness (Nike Basketball)

This video starts off kind of weak but once the guy (or you actually) signs a chicks breasts, shakes hands with Ronaldinho, and pukes his guts out...I'm wanting to be a Soccer player. Something I haven't wanted to be since I was seven....

I feel a little nauesous myself after watching that, but that was pretty sweet. Nike has done it again.

(Thanks to BG for the video)

Here is Nike's new spot with Steve Nash as the Sixty Million Dollar Man (with special guest appearances from Raja Bell and Amare) via SLAM.....

Sixty million dollars seems like a waste of money at this point as the Suns are now down 2-0 to the World Champion Spurs. But cool commercial Nike.

Steve Nash: The Sixty Million Dollar Man Video (SLAM)

I don't know what it is about Nike's advertising lately but it actually makes me want to leave the house from time to time. Their latest installment is for something called "SPARQ" (Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness) and features an airhorn, a Gnarls Barkley-like song, and a ton of athletes working out....

The shoes are supposed to make you train like Adrian Peterson and Hope Solo or something. I'm ready for the parachute to be strapped on Nike! Have your way with me, your advertising is too strong!!!

Stacey Wall And Weiden+Kenedy Launch Nike’s SPARQ (Dropkick Monkey)

We usually do a good of promoting everyone else's events and goings on in this here blogosphere and more often than not those things are pretty noteworthy. Well CNBC's Darren Rovell (a blogger himself....technically) was recently tabbed to take a look into the brand that is NIKE, and sent me and advanced copy of the program airing tomorrow.

I promised Rovell that I wouldn't hold any punches back when reviewing the documentary, and here's what you need to know......It's amazing.

There are interviews with Phil Knight, Jordan, Lebron, Tiger Woods, and Charles Barkley to name a few, but it's the history of Nike and a look inside it's labor turnaround that make it that much more entertaining. Via CNBC's press release....

Rovell takes viewers on a ride through Nike's history... from the company's chaotic start in 1962 as Blue Ribbon Sports to its current sports dominance. In a rare interview, Nike co-founder Phil Knight tells CNBC how the Nike name was conceived and how he paid a design student the grand sum of 35 dollars to design the signature "swoosh" logo now recognizable around the world. "Swoosh! Inside Nike" also gives viewers an inside look into the story of the groundbreaking advertising that made Nike famous. Dan Wieden, the driving force behind the genius of ad firm Wieden + Kennedy, as well as the athletes who made the ads famous-Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Charles Barkley-reveal how the ads came about.

Many thanks to Rovell for sending me the advance copy and kudos to CNBC for putting something together so interesting that I almost watched it twice. If you have an hour or so I definitely recommend checking out "Swoosh!" tomorrow night.

"Swoosh! Inside Nike": CNBC, Tuesday February 12th (10pm and 1am)

Michael Jordan: Still "Marketing" Success (CNBC: Sports Biz)