Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 86

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1996 EES I big-time player in the American basketball shoe market. Yes, a phenomenon with everything that entails, including the odd exaggeration. Yes, Bryant indeed wants to take college courses over the Internet. He said it is his intention. But, no, he isn't enrolled yet not at Harvard, not anywhere.

He isn't even sure if there are many schools willing to let him work for credits that way. "I hope so," he said. Image collides with reality. The selling of Kobe Bryant. Day 1.

-'nawv- yj r' y- i 5 I 1 I I 1 i I 1 i i -Yr H- I I i A- i -o i I jr EW YORK On one wall were four nearly life-size photos of Kobe Bryant, in various stages of dunk-entra-tion. Throughout the room, by an unofficial count, there were 56 adidas logos splattered all over everything walls, balls, chairs, microphones and whatever flat surfaces seemed capable of sustaining either tacks or tape. And that didn't include the logos on the press credentials reporters wore around their necks, or the logos on the shirts worn by the staff. Clearly, we were here for a reason. First, though, a guy sidled over.

lie intro- duced himself and said that as a means of assisting Bryant in attaining his educational goals in the midst of an NBA career, Compaq was giving Kobe a laptop computer and Microsoft was giving him some software and that Bryant's intention was to take college courses over the Internet. "He's enrolled at Harvard," the man said, earnestly. Kobe's mom and dad and two sisters were seated in the front row. Several television cameras were on a platform in the back, and still photographers nudged each other for position. It was 10 a.m.

on a steaming day in a SoIIo showroom. Bryant's introduction to the world of endorsements was, on at least a small scale, a phenomenon. Skipping college and vaulting straight from Lower Merion High School to the NBA draft will mark you that way. A winning personality at the age of 17 doesn't hurt. Now there is this big deal with a company trying very hard to become a flu! 1 a What Kobe does will be on a national basis.

That's what we foresee. Adviser Rick Bradley Which is a mouthful. Somebody joked later about the pressure that this kind of statement puts on Bryant. Kobe smiled and looked back at the imaginary burden on his shoulders. Wynne tried to explain.

"I don't know that we're putting that much on Kobe's shoulders," he said. "Kobe and I were talking backstage before we came on, and he was talking to me about loving the challenge of not only succeeding himself, but helping to bring adidas to prominence in basketball. "The story we're going to tell about Kobe Bryant is the story of a kid pursuing a dream. I think that story will unfold as his career unfolds. I don't think we're making a statement that Kobe Bryant is going to go in and transform the NBA tomorrow.

I think what we're saying is that there's a generation of kids coming into sports that have grown up living it and loving it in a way that brings an enthusiasm to the game that I think will be significant, regardless of whether the individuals themselves achieve the kind of prominence that they aspire to. I don't think it's putting any pressure on him to say that he's giving our consumers and our prospective audience the opportunity to participate in the enthusiasm and the sheer joy that this kid brings to this challenge," Wynne said. "That's what's going to be interesting about him." Even as Dennis Rodman wears See HOFMANN Page 85 'I'm not nervous and I'm not says Kobe Bryant, of NBA No figures were mentioned, oui in tne I great pantheon of ath- it: le-tnuui seinem ai- rangements, Rick Bradley of the William Morris Agency said, "There is no question that this is not an entry-level deal. This is a major contract by adidas." Bradley is part of a team now surrounding Bryant. He will have a regular agent for his NBA contract, Arn Tellem.

He will continue to have his family as advisers, especially his father, Joe, a Sixer of yore. And then there is this William Morris connection. It's an agency that hasn't done many athletes in the past. Olympic skater Oksana Baiul, Bo Jackson, George Foreman and Peggy Fleming have been sports clients in the past, but William Morris has been and continues to be an entertainment agency. Its all-star list of clients includes Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg, Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis and Clint Eastwood.

And, now, Kobe Bryant. He will be part of a national television campaign beginning this August, a campaign to dorsements for athletes. Age sports marketing reporter Jeff Jensen said Sha-quille O'Neal's agents learned that when they tried to "prepackage" their client as the next great superstar even before he slammed his first dunk. "How many Shaq sneaks has Reebok sold? How many cases of Pepsi has he moved?" Jensen asked. "The rap on Shaq is that, while he's a fun, entertaining advertising icon he doesn't have the credibility to move their uct" because his team hasn't won a championship yet.

Even the greatest sports marketing superstar of all time Michael Jordan didn't lift off till he won the NBA champion- Ship; Jensen VV tfirymvs, -JwsVitesv FdDir BinaButt aftdfo miP Ms pflay's ftihe Mod; ASSOCIATED PRESS ple trying to build their business talked about Kobe's family, and his background, and the challenge of a high school kid trying to make it to the NBA, and the appeal of that unique story. It clearly doesn't hurt that he's good-looking and well-spoken. Oh and that they think he can play. "He's one of a new generation of athletes who will help transform sports in the next decade or two," said Steve Wynne, the president of adidas America. And what is that aura? Sports marketing experts rattle off his assets like car salesmen on commission: Let's start with that name, Kobe.

It could be a sneaker model or a cologne for young men. He is smart and well-spoken. Compare his on-camera demeanor with stuttering, inarticulate athletes who can't think or speak in sentences. He comes from a good, hardworking family. Adidas showcased the Bryant brood yesterday, an affirmation that he is trustworthy enough to date your daughter.

He's young, very young. He can speak directly to the teenage consumer adidas is looking to launch a new line of sports shoes called "Feet You Wear." In October, November and March, there will be specific ads that highlight him. It sounds like a big commitment, and it was announced as a multiyear deal. Which leads to a question: Why him? Everybody involved from adidas shoe guru Sonny Vaccaro, who put the Bryants in touch with the William Morris people, to the agency people who brokered the deal, to the adidas peo That's why they spent part of yesterday backpedaling on his potential as an NBA star. Rick Bradley, his representative at the William Morris Agency, said the company signed him because he has an "incredible" personality that can "transfer to entertainment." "My biggest fear is that he's not overexposed in areas he doesn't deserve to be in yet," Bradley said.

"He's got to go out and prove himself on the court." Meanwhile, adidas representatives focused not on Bryant's talent, but his dream to play in the NBA. Spokesman Chris Persinger said, "We're confident that Kobe is going to succeed on the court, pyeraUpackage'a but by NBA standards, that's average. He's one of us. Williams and others said signing Kobe was a wise move for adidas, even if it is a risk. "Nobody knows for sure that he can compete at this level," Williams said.

"But he has a lot of potential. The whole sports industry is based on that." Others, such as Conshohocken sports agent Brent Senior, noted adidas a second-tier sneaker producer behind giants Reebok and Nike can't afford the high-priced, established talent. "To get back in the door again, they have to do drastic things," Senior said. "By making a somewhat risky venture of latching on to a high school player, the novelty will get them a Jot press xover- .1 i i by Don Russell and Jim Nolan Daily News Staff Writers He has the name, the looks, a celebrity date for the prom and those crazy sunglasses. But can Kobe score in the NBA? That isn't a basketball question -4t's a dilemma for adidas and everyone else who wants to make a buck off the 17-year-old phenom from Lower Merion High.

Kobe Bryant could be the next great sports supermodel, marketing experts say, but not if he can't put the ball in the hoop. "The only thing that matters is hojf well he can play," said Bob Williams, president of Burns Sports Celelrirtesa Chicago cora-v; 'jriiwxgw tocpPxaiA..