He’s Back in the Picture

The advertisement shows Kobe Bryant in sharp profile, staring at a long list of insults that have been hurled at him by fans, the media, even his coach.

“Selfish.”

“Uncoachable.”

“Prima donna.”

Conspicuous in its absence is any mention of his woes off the court -- but there is no mistaking that the two-page Nike ad in Sports Illustrated marks Bryant’s re-emergence as a celebrity endorser on the national stage, more than 10 months after a felony sexual assault charge against him was dismissed.

This is not the Bryant fans saw before the scandal, the high-flying superstar, glamorous, almost perfect. This time, he is depicted in the role of underdog, facing up to his detractors, at least in basketball terms. Marketing experts call it a savvy means of testing public opinion, if not an ingenious first step in remolding the Laker star as a sympathetic figure.

“It shows Kobe as a real person who has made mistakes,” said Osei Appiah, an assistant professor of advertising at Ohio State. “They’re trying to cast him as a person who is fighting big odds, big obstacles.”

In the aftermath of the criminal charges, corporations such as McDonald’s and Ferrero, which makes Nutella hazelnut spread, chose not to renew their endorsement deals with the Laker star. Even Nike, which had signed Bryant to a reported $40-million to $45-million contract shortly before the incident, had kept him in the background.

So last week’s ad represented something more than just a sleek pitch for a $130 pair of sneakers.

“I think enough time has passed,” said Doug Shabelman, senior vice president of Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing in Evanston, Ill. “And the way they used him in the ad ... it’s a muted advertisement. It’s quiet, calm.”

A women’s advocacy group saw it differently.

“We would ask corporations like Nike to act a little more responsibly,” said Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “They really are creating a role model that millions of young kids across the world are going to see. They could have put up someone who is not only accomplished as an athlete but also is a person who has a reputation as a fine, upstanding citizen.”

Though the case against Bryant was dropped, experts say his image was damaged, if only because he admitted to adultery and issued a public apology to his accuser.

“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual

A little more than two years ago, Bryant could count himself among a select cadre of celebrity athletes -- including Tiger, Shaq and Serena -- identifiable by one name. He had made himself a marketing juggernaut, hawking cheeseburgers, a soft drink and other products, all of which yielded tens of millions in endorsement dollars.

Then, on June 30, 2003, a 19-year-old woman accused him of raping her in a hotel room in Edwards, Colo., where he had gone for knee surgery.

No matter the outcome of the case, Bryant had acquired a lasting tagline: “Once accused of sexual assault.”

Prosecutors announced on Sept. 1, 2004, “The victim has informed us ... that she does not want to proceed with this trial. For this reason, and this reason only, the case is being dismissed.”

Six months later, in early March, a civil lawsuit filed by the woman against Bryant was settled. Terms were confidential.

By that time, although he had continued to dominate headlines on sports pages and play on national television, Bryant was nowhere to be seen as an endorser.

Bryant lost about $2 million when McDonald’s and Nutella declined to renew his contracts, according to Forbes. The magazine reported that his endorsement money exceeded $13 million from June 2003 to June 2004. Sports Illustrated reported that his endorsement earnings dropped to about $9 million over the last 12 months.

His reputation had also suffered on the basketball court.

Some Laker fans blamed him for the departures of Shaquille O’Neal, traded to the Miami Heat, and Coach Phil Jackson, who left after the 2004 NBA Finals. As the lone superstar on the Laker roster last season, Bryant failed to lead the team into the playoffs.

Near the end of the season, he made a brief return to the marketing scene: Carl’s Jr. offered a Kobe Bryant bobblehead doll among the Laker dolls sold at their restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

“We’ve focused in on Kobe’s performance on the court and his popularity as a player and now maybe everybody else will do that too,” said Renae Scott, the company’s vice president of regional marketing and media.

Bryant’s agent did not return a phone call from The Times. A spokesman for Nike declined to speak about last week’s ad, but the company issued a statement:

“There is no change in Kobe Bryant’s contractual status with Nike.... Nike agrees with most NBA observers that Kobe ranks among the very best players in the NBA, and his training and preparation are key elements of his game.”

Bryant’s name, though not his image, had appeared in a Nike ad earlier this year. In some regards, experts said, the shoe manufacturer is a predictable vehicle for his return to mainstream marketing.

This was the company that paid such controversial figures as John McEnroe and Charles Barkley to peddle its products, said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, which has ties to alumnus and Nike founder, Phil Knight.

“As a company, Nike has always really loved those kind of athletes,” Swangard said. “What has made them successful was that the athletes were on the edge but never over the edge. It’s brash.”

Shabelman, whose Illinois company matches advertisers with celebrities, suggests that Bryant is different.

“Guys like McEnroe and Barkley ... you didn’t have anything to the extent of sexual assault,” the sports marketer said.

But Nike might have had other reasons for sticking by him. As the company’s statement suggests, he remains under a five-year contract.

“Nike would like to get some return on that investment,” Swangard said.

The new ad refers only to his difficulties in basketball, the criticisms leveled at him as the Lakers struggled. His name is not in the ad, only his picture.

Every negative phrase in the ad copy -- “No playoffs,” “Not a leader,” “Not a team player,” “No more rings” -- is paired with some type of exercise in Bryant’s supposed training regimen -- “1,000 made jumpers,” “Curls 15 x 3,” “100m run x 10.”

Appiah said Bryant’s problems might actually boost his popularity with certain segments of the population that are likely to buy basketball shoes.

“Before, everything was handed to Kobe ... maybe even some blacks didn’t see him as being genuinely black,” said the professor, a former college basketball player. “Now, the average inner-city kid can identify with Kobe having some struggles.”

Marketing experts gave the ad high marks and said they were watching for Nike’s next move. Bryant, they said, still enjoys that “one-name” recognition.

No one, however, expects him to return to his former status as a top-shelf endorser.

“You can’t put him back in the space he once enjoyed,” Swangard said. “He is forever changed by the experience and to think he’s now a Disneyland character -- that’s unauthentic.”

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Sports pitchmen

Kobe Bryant was third among NBA players in endorsements earned in the last year. Total earnings in parentheses and figures rounded:

*--* Athlete Sport Endorsements Tiger Woods Golf $80 million ($86.4 mil.) Andre Agassi Tennis $44.5 million ($45.7) LeBron James Basketball $24 million ($28.3) Phil Mickelson Golf $21 million ($27.4) Serena Williams Tennis $20 million ($22.2) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Stock car $20 million ($27.2) Lance Armstrong Cycling $17.5 million ($18) Jeff Gordon Stock car $15 million ($21.4) Shaquille O’Neal Basketball $14 million ($41.7) Peyton Manning Football $10.5 million ($30) Tom Brady Football $9 million ($24.5) Kobe Bryant Basketball $9 million ($23.2)

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