Ben Johnson, Cheetah. Get it?
Bizarre ad for power drink trades on former sprinter Ben Johnson's disgrace
But industry experts say it's misguided and may backfire
Mar. 24, 2006. 05:52 AM
MORGAN CAMPBELL
SPORTS REPORTER
<!-- icx_story_begin -->Ben Johnson is back. And he's still a "cheetah."
Nineteen years and two flunked drug tests after he first set the 100-metre world record, Canada's most famous sports cheater is trading on his infamy to sell a new energy drink called Cheetah Power Surge.
The pun is intentional, say the people who created two TV commercials featuring Johnson that are now on the air. But sports and marketing experts find the association with the disgraced sprinter bizarre.
One commercial juxtaposes images of Johnson and a cheetah — the world's fastest-running land animal — and encourages viewers to "go ahead and Cheetah."
The other features Johnson on a mock talk show hosted by Frank D'Angelo, the president and CEO of Mississauga-based D'Angelo Brands, the company that makes the drink. He tells Johnson that the talk show is all about being honest.
"Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?"
"Absolutely!" says Johnson, who lost his world record and gold medal after a positive steroid test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The audience gasps.
"I Cheetah all the time!" Johnson says.
When Johnson holds up a can of the drink, the audience bursts into applause.
D'Angelo pats Johnson on the shoulder.
"You're amazing," he tells Johnson.
<CENTER><TABLE width=280><TBODY><TR><TD><HR></HR>[FONT=helvetica,arial]`Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?' `Absolutely! I Cheetah all the time!' [/FONT]<HR></HR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER>Johnson is on vacation in Europe and was unavailable for comment.
But D'Angelo said his company targeted Johnson for the ad campaign more than two months ago. He wouldn't say how much Johnson was paid.
"Ben's just a guy who was on top and he slipped up," D'Angelo said.
"The cheetah is one of the fastest land animals in the world, so that's how we made that connection."
One academic calls that a flimsy platform for an ad campaign.
"If an all-natural drink is what you're promoting, I wouldn't have Ben Johnson out there," said Jay Gladden, an associate professor of sports management at the University of Massachusetts.
"He's not associated with using natural supplements to win a gold medal. He's associated with using steroids and having his gold medal taken away.
"They're trying to promote an all-natural drink with a guy who stands for exactly the opposite. It just strikes me as really misguided."
According to its ingredient list, Cheetah contains nothing stronger than ginseng extract and royal jelly, but D'Angelo couldn't say for sure if you could drink some and still pass an Olympic drug test.
"I don't know," he said, "... but I've never heard of ginseng or royal jelly being illicit or illegal additives."
Daniel Cherry, a senior strategic planner with Wieden+Kennedy, a Manhattan-based ad firm, says Cheetah sacrificed credibility for short-term buzz when it hired Johnson.
"If this is your step up into the marketplace, how do you legitimize yourself?" he asked. "What's that say to the next superstar Canadian athlete? Steve Nash is never going to touch this drink."
But D'Angelo says a quick, gut reaction was all he wanted from the talk show commercial.
"Did the commercial ... make you chuckle?" D'Angelo asked. "Then that's all I wanted to do."<!-- icx_story_end -->
Bizarre ad for power drink trades on former sprinter Ben Johnson's disgrace
But industry experts say it's misguided and may backfire
Mar. 24, 2006. 05:52 AM
MORGAN CAMPBELL
SPORTS REPORTER
<!-- icx_story_begin -->Ben Johnson is back. And he's still a "cheetah."
Nineteen years and two flunked drug tests after he first set the 100-metre world record, Canada's most famous sports cheater is trading on his infamy to sell a new energy drink called Cheetah Power Surge.
The pun is intentional, say the people who created two TV commercials featuring Johnson that are now on the air. But sports and marketing experts find the association with the disgraced sprinter bizarre.
One commercial juxtaposes images of Johnson and a cheetah — the world's fastest-running land animal — and encourages viewers to "go ahead and Cheetah."
The other features Johnson on a mock talk show hosted by Frank D'Angelo, the president and CEO of Mississauga-based D'Angelo Brands, the company that makes the drink. He tells Johnson that the talk show is all about being honest.
"Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?"
"Absolutely!" says Johnson, who lost his world record and gold medal after a positive steroid test at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
The audience gasps.
"I Cheetah all the time!" Johnson says.
When Johnson holds up a can of the drink, the audience bursts into applause.
D'Angelo pats Johnson on the shoulder.
"You're amazing," he tells Johnson.
<CENTER><TABLE width=280><TBODY><TR><TD><HR></HR>[FONT=helvetica,arial]`Ben, when you run, do you Cheetah?' `Absolutely! I Cheetah all the time!' [/FONT]<HR></HR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER>Johnson is on vacation in Europe and was unavailable for comment.
But D'Angelo said his company targeted Johnson for the ad campaign more than two months ago. He wouldn't say how much Johnson was paid.
"Ben's just a guy who was on top and he slipped up," D'Angelo said.
"The cheetah is one of the fastest land animals in the world, so that's how we made that connection."
One academic calls that a flimsy platform for an ad campaign.
"If an all-natural drink is what you're promoting, I wouldn't have Ben Johnson out there," said Jay Gladden, an associate professor of sports management at the University of Massachusetts.
"He's not associated with using natural supplements to win a gold medal. He's associated with using steroids and having his gold medal taken away.
"They're trying to promote an all-natural drink with a guy who stands for exactly the opposite. It just strikes me as really misguided."
According to its ingredient list, Cheetah contains nothing stronger than ginseng extract and royal jelly, but D'Angelo couldn't say for sure if you could drink some and still pass an Olympic drug test.
"I don't know," he said, "... but I've never heard of ginseng or royal jelly being illicit or illegal additives."
Daniel Cherry, a senior strategic planner with Wieden+Kennedy, a Manhattan-based ad firm, says Cheetah sacrificed credibility for short-term buzz when it hired Johnson.
"If this is your step up into the marketplace, how do you legitimize yourself?" he asked. "What's that say to the next superstar Canadian athlete? Steve Nash is never going to touch this drink."
But D'Angelo says a quick, gut reaction was all he wanted from the talk show commercial.
"Did the commercial ... make you chuckle?" D'Angelo asked. "Then that's all I wanted to do."<!-- icx_story_end -->
