Maria Sharapova The Next Anna Kournikova

Anna Kournikova, the tennis player turned sex symbol, may soon have some competition in the cut-throat game of marketing endorsement. Rising tennis star Maria Sharapova, a beautiful 17 year old from Siberia, is ranked well above Kournikova in actual tennis wins but far below her in awareness factor. In fact, only 23 percent of sports fans know who she is.

While Sharapova is concentrating on winning tennis and laying low on the marketing front with small deals with Nike, Prince and NEC, marketers are mulling her potential as spokesmodel. Celebrity and athlete management company The Marketing Arm's Managing Director Jeff Crown said, "She has great marketing potential. She has the looks of Kournikova, but the game will keep her in the public eye." But Sharapova is opting to keep her eye on the ball playing tennis for the time being rather than baring her body for marketers. In a refreshing turn away from easy money, she has turned down several offers according to her business team even though interest has been high.

For additional analysis on upcoming female tennis players who are in line to steal the spotlight from Kournikova, see Apechild's article, "The New Babes of Tennis."

Las Vegas Promoted Terminator Style

Here's a series of radio ads from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority using the Terminator theme to promote Las Vegas. The campaign, called "Instigator," is airing in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco.

Adver-Wear: Another Excuse to Look At Breasts

For those who can't get enough television viewing or breast/chest ogling, there's now a solution to both. Brand Marketers has launched Adver-Wear, or T-Shirt TV, an ad medium that consists of a 6 1/2 pound t-shirt with an 11 inch flat screen TV embedded in it. Male and female models are wearing the shirts this weekend at theaters and malls to promote the new Fox movie, "I, Robot."

The concept was developed by 30 year old Adam Hollander of Brand Marketers who said, "People of my generation and younger are so used to moving images on TV that if it's not a moving image, it doesn't move them." Now if he could just invent an Adver-Wear bikini or a form fitting version of the t-shirt, we'd all have much more fun watching.

For more Adver-fill-in-the-blank stuff, go here. Thanks to Adra Graves for this one.