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July 25th 2008
Wall Street Journal article on USTA Tour
McEnroe Steps In For Tennis Campaign USTA Taps Sports Icon To Promote U.S. Series After Its Image Crisis
By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
July 25, 2008; Page B11
More than 15 years after leaving the professional tennis tour, John McEnroe, the sport's former bad boy, has come to the rescue of the United States Tennis Association.
In March, the USTA prepared a series of commercials to promote its 10 tournaments known as the Olympus U.S. Open Series. As with last year's campaign, the ads were built around the premise that the world's best players, plus retired player and sometime announcer Justin Gimelstob, were taking a road trip on a luxury cruiser across the country to each of the tournaments.
Mr. Gimelstob, a hunky, outspoken former doubles star, played the stooge of the trip. In one ad, he sits across from Roger Federer drinking from a coffee mug his mother gave him that says "World's Greatest Tennis Player" as Mr. Federer watches with scorn.
Then last month, the marketing campaign was hit with an image crisis. Mr. Gimelstob had gone on a Washington, D.C., radio show and unleashed a tirade against former tour player and model Anna Kournikova, threatening her with violence. Mr. Gimelstob apologized for his comments but the USTA decided to kill the ads -- sort of.
"It was heartbreaking because I put my heart and soul into those ads," Mr. Gimelstob said Thursday. "The USTA gave me a great opportunity and I let them down."
Michelle Solomon, the USTA's chief marketing officer, said the organization did "what we had to do. Then we switched to what-do-we-do-now mode."
The USTA, which had originally wanted Mr. McEnroe for the campaign but feared he would be too expensive, went back to the former player and pleaded.
After returning from Wimbledon two weeks ago, USTA Chief Executive Arlen Kantarian persuaded Mr. McEnroe to help. The recruitment of Mr. McEnroe wasn't without irony: A player who used to toss rackets and rail at officials was being hired to project a cleaner image than the one Mr. Gimelstob could offer.
Within three days, the USTA and its agency, Arnold Worldwide, shot new footage, which they digitally inserted into the existing ads, which debut Friday. "They should have asked me in the first place," said Mr. McEnroe, who will donate what he called the "minuscule amount" he was paid to his foundation. "The U.S. Open has always been close to my heart. I grew up in Queens."
In the redone ads, Mr. McEnroe dons several of the personalities he assumes in his life, including the unappreciated former star, the rock 'n' roller, and the reluctant elder statesman.
For example, Mr. McEnroe, holding the same "World's Greatest Tennis Player" coffee mug, tells Mr. Federer he's had it since 1981. Then he offers to play Mr. Federer for it. In other spots, Mr. McEnroe appears to harass Rafael Nadal as he drives a bus, jamming on a guitar and lifting weights just a few feet behind an annoyed Mr. Nadal.
Mr. Gimelstob continues to work for the Tennis Channel and is hopeful his announcing career will prosper despite the outburst, which received national attention.
The USTA is trying to build the Olympus U.S. Open Series into a high-profile regular season of tennis that leads to a climax at the U.S. Open during the final weeks of summer in New York. With the help of the road-trip campaign, the USTA is seeing progress. Viewership has more than doubled, growing to 46 million last year from 20 million in 2003, according to the organization, even though the number of broadcast hours is up only 25%. Attendance is up 5% since 2003, from 923,000 to 971,000.
"It used to be that all tennis commercials were just forehands and backhands," Ms. Solomon said. "I wanted the players in there talking. I wanted to showcase their personalities. "
By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
July 25, 2008; Page B11
More than 15 years after leaving the professional tennis tour, John McEnroe, the sport's former bad boy, has come to the rescue of the United States Tennis Association.
In March, the USTA prepared a series of commercials to promote its 10 tournaments known as the Olympus U.S. Open Series. As with last year's campaign, the ads were built around the premise that the world's best players, plus retired player and sometime announcer Justin Gimelstob, were taking a road trip on a luxury cruiser across the country to each of the tournaments.
Mr. Gimelstob, a hunky, outspoken former doubles star, played the stooge of the trip. In one ad, he sits across from Roger Federer drinking from a coffee mug his mother gave him that says "World's Greatest Tennis Player" as Mr. Federer watches with scorn.
Then last month, the marketing campaign was hit with an image crisis. Mr. Gimelstob had gone on a Washington, D.C., radio show and unleashed a tirade against former tour player and model Anna Kournikova, threatening her with violence. Mr. Gimelstob apologized for his comments but the USTA decided to kill the ads -- sort of.
"It was heartbreaking because I put my heart and soul into those ads," Mr. Gimelstob said Thursday. "The USTA gave me a great opportunity and I let them down."
Michelle Solomon, the USTA's chief marketing officer, said the organization did "what we had to do. Then we switched to what-do-we-do-now mode."
The USTA, which had originally wanted Mr. McEnroe for the campaign but feared he would be too expensive, went back to the former player and pleaded.
After returning from Wimbledon two weeks ago, USTA Chief Executive Arlen Kantarian persuaded Mr. McEnroe to help. The recruitment of Mr. McEnroe wasn't without irony: A player who used to toss rackets and rail at officials was being hired to project a cleaner image than the one Mr. Gimelstob could offer.
Within three days, the USTA and its agency, Arnold Worldwide, shot new footage, which they digitally inserted into the existing ads, which debut Friday. "They should have asked me in the first place," said Mr. McEnroe, who will donate what he called the "minuscule amount" he was paid to his foundation. "The U.S. Open has always been close to my heart. I grew up in Queens."
In the redone ads, Mr. McEnroe dons several of the personalities he assumes in his life, including the unappreciated former star, the rock 'n' roller, and the reluctant elder statesman.
For example, Mr. McEnroe, holding the same "World's Greatest Tennis Player" coffee mug, tells Mr. Federer he's had it since 1981. Then he offers to play Mr. Federer for it. In other spots, Mr. McEnroe appears to harass Rafael Nadal as he drives a bus, jamming on a guitar and lifting weights just a few feet behind an annoyed Mr. Nadal.
Mr. Gimelstob continues to work for the Tennis Channel and is hopeful his announcing career will prosper despite the outburst, which received national attention.
The USTA is trying to build the Olympus U.S. Open Series into a high-profile regular season of tennis that leads to a climax at the U.S. Open during the final weeks of summer in New York. With the help of the road-trip campaign, the USTA is seeing progress. Viewership has more than doubled, growing to 46 million last year from 20 million in 2003, according to the organization, even though the number of broadcast hours is up only 25%. Attendance is up 5% since 2003, from 923,000 to 971,000.
"It used to be that all tennis commercials were just forehands and backhands," Ms. Solomon said. "I wanted the players in there talking. I wanted to showcase their personalities. "
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