What exactly did Adidas think would happen? The reason folks such as myself read Mr. Arenas' blog is that isn't corporate-scripted, safe, full of focus-group tested phrases, but rather top-of-mind observations. You know, like a real blog.
Last month executives at shoemaker Adidas AG got a shock when they read the latest blog entry from their star endorser, pro basketball player Gilbert Arenas. He had seen the design of his second Adidas signature shoe -- which had yet to be revealed to the public -- and he wasn't impressed.
"I'm sitting there looking at the shoe like 'I hope you guys aren't serious. Because I'm not going to wear this shoe. ... Nobody is going to wear this shoe," said the blog post from the Washington Wizards guard. He said parts of it reminded him of a "ballerina."
Adidas executives learned that day what an increasing number of marketers have found -- that pitchmen armed with a blog can be tricky. Blog posts are typically candid and breezy, not the kind of safe, stock answers that athletes are often advised to give in postgame interviews, says David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute in Los Angeles. Blogs "can either help elevate the status of the companies or it can wreak havoc on the brands they work with," he says.
Mr. Arenas is one of several star athletes writing blogs -- or in his case, phoning an National Basketball Association staffer who faithfully transcribes his thoughts for the NBA Web site every 10 days or so [From Companies Try to Score With Athletes Who Blog - WSJ.com]
Nobody wants to read inane press releases either.
Mr. Arenas has made his share of blunders online. He blogged about the scolding he got from NBA officials for making a $10 bet with a fan at a Washington Wizards-Portland Trail Blazers game in March. Soon after, the league removed the post from Mr. Arenas's blog. Mr. Arenas and the league said that he has agreed not to post on topics like gambling on NBA games.
Mr. Arenas has also complimented certain sneaker styles by Nike Inc. and Starbury, the line endorsed by the New York Knicks' Stephon Marbury -- despite his own endorsement deal with sneaker competitor Adidas.
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An All-Star player known in basketball circles for his quirky sense of humor, the 25-year-old Mr. Arenas says he initially saw the blog as a way to show fans a "lighter" side of his personality. On March 18, for instance, he blogged about the birth of his son, Alijah Amani Arenas. "We're trying to get him sponsored by AAA now and get his diapers paid for," he blogged.
Other postings dish about everything from him dropping his baby daughter (he says she's OK) to arguments with his girlfriend. Mr. Arenas has also blogged about his salary.
Fans have responded. "Agent Zero: The Blog File" has drawn about three million page views since it started in October 2006, according to the NBA. That makes it the most popular athlete blog on the NBA's Web site, says the NBA. Mr. Arenas is the only one of the group from last year still posting, though he'll be joined this season by new NBA player bloggers -- the Utah Jazz's Morris Almond and the Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng.
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Still, Adidas's experience with the blog has been bumpy. Aside from the posting about the new shoe design, Mr. Arenas used the blog to alert fans to a forthcoming "golden ticket" promotion with Adidas and EA Sports that would give winners a free shoe. But the promotion never happened. Neither did a collaboration with Adidas and Benihana Inc. that Mr. Arenas featured in his blog.
Adidas's Mr. Gonzolez says that while the golden ticket and Benihana promotions were discussed, no one later informed Mr. Arenas that the ideas were scrapped. Adidas executives eventually asked Mr. Arenas to clear information about coming shoe releases with them before he posts on his blog.
These incidents have given Mr. Arenas's marketing partners pause; they say they realize they can't control what he says and that he might criticize them. Jordan Edelstein, marketing director at EA Sports, says the company debated Mr. Arenas's blogging style before the company chose him for the cover of the game.
"We knew if there was something he didn't like, he would say so -- probably to everyone," Mr. Edelstein says. Ultimately the company decided that Mr. Arenas's honesty was a plus: "That's why his fans respond to him. ... We felt it was worth the risk."
Still, Adidas, EA and Spalding each say that whether an athlete blogs, and how they can work together with the blog, will be a part of future endorsement negotiations.
For his part, Mr. Arenas believes that readers are interested in unfiltered information. "For some reason everyone wants to be this golden boy, like you can't make a mistake," he says. "I don't think my blog would have been successful if I wasn't as real as I am and as willing to let people into my life."
