Golfer Lights Up : Will Larry Laoretti Be Madison Avenue’s Next Folk Hero?

Most people didn’t know Larry Laoretti from Mario Andretti. Then, out of nowhere, he stepped on a golf course and won the U.S. Senior Open championship the other weekend--knocking the argyle socks off such marketing millionaires as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

This 53-year-old Jack Klugman wannabe--who is as well-known for the brand of cigar he smokes (Te-Amo) and the motor home he drives (American Eagle) as the game of golf he plays--is within a short putt of emerging as the next instant folk hero of Madison Avenue.

Every marketer’s dream is to latch on to the upcoming media star ahead of the rest of the pack. And while makers of limited-appeal merchandise like cigars, golf equipment and golf clothing already have Laoretti’s name on the dotted line, he still hasn’t had a line of sneakers named after him. (All right, a company that makes putters is about to emboss his name on one.)

Laoretti, who has never even qualified for the PGA Tour, is hardly a one-man Dream Team. But from a marketing perspective, this unexpected champion who likes to smoke cigars on the golf course and wheel around the country in a plush camper, has two vital things going for him: he’s nutty and he’s new. Marketing experts, however, say that will be sufficient only for a while. Like any media hero, he will have to keep his name in the news--probably by winning big events.

“Coming from nowhere gives him a story,” said Arthur Kaminsky, president of the New York sports marketing firm Athletes & Artists. “And then he’s got that great gimmick--his cigar.” The problem with most folk heroes, however, is their fame is short-lived.

Who ever heard of Bucky Dent, a little-known New York Yankee infielder of middling talent? Dent--whose good looks also caught the media’s eye--suddenly emerged as a World Series hero in 1978, and soon found himself hawking everything from Adidas athletic shoes to American Motors cars. (Dent’s advice to Laoretti: “Get a good agent.”)

Then, there’s John Daly. He was a next-to-nobody who could do one thing very well: whack a golf ball a country mile. Then, he up and won the PGA championship last year and in short order bagged a $1-million Reebok endorsement contract.

“They say the best deals get made on the golf course,” said Laoretti, in a phone interview hours before teeing off over the weekend at a golf tournament in Aurora, Ill., where he finished in the middle of the pack. “It looks like my (endorsement) deals may be mushrooming.”

But one sports marketer suggests it might not last long. “If I call 10 clients and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got Larry Laoretti for you,’ I guarantee you all 10 of them will say, ‘Who?’ ” said Brandon Steiner, owner of New York-based Steiner Sports Marketing.

Several firms that Laoretti already has deals with are rushing out print ads--and building marketing campaigns--around his U.S. Senior Open win. Consolidated Cigar, which makes the Te-Amo brand cigar that Laoretti smokes, is about to promote a special offer in golf magazines. “We can’t send you Larry’s putter,” the upcoming ad will say, “but we can send you a sample of the cigar he smokes.” Of course, readers must send in $5 to get 10 of them.

Until now, Consolidated has done little for Laoretti besides ship him about 250 cigars a month. But after his win, the firm--which over the years has signed everyone from George Burns to Susan Anton as promoters--shipped a batch of cigars to Laoretti that have this printed on the wrappers: Especially selected for Mr. Larry Laoretti, U.S. Senior Open champion.

“I would not forecast that any of this will drive people in droves to start buying Te-Amo cigars,” said Richard DiMeola, executive vice president at Consolidated. “But if somebody remembers our brand name as a result of all the publicity he generated, how can we lose?”

Laoretti’s contract with Consolidated expires at the end of the year. And he could sign with one of several other cigar makers that contacted him last week. His cigar, after all, is his best marketing link to the golf links.

Also trying to hang onto Laoretti is LaMode Corp., a maker of golf attire that has him under contract to wear its duds. It is suddenly trying to negotiate a three-year extension.

LaMode is also rushing out a print ad to congratulate him. “This guy will be on the cover of every golf magazine in the country,” said Alan Gealer, vice president of sales at LaMode. “We got lucky. And we’ll milk it--in good taste--for whatever we can.”

So, what will Laoretti get out of all this?

Well, his tournament earnings are about $294,000 so far this year--compared to $325,000 for all of last year.

And by his own estimate, he will add “somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000” immediately to his current endorsement fees, which are estimated to now fall below $25,000 annually. While Laoretti is not raking in anything close to the $10 million in endorsement fees that Palmer and Nicklaus each earned last year, for a relative newcomer to competitive golf he’s not doing half bad.

On Friday, his New York-based agent, Vantage Sports Management, struck an endorsement deal with Ebel watches, and Laoretti will have the company’s timepieces strapped to his wrist for years to come. Vantage is also negotiating with Custom Coaches, which makes a brand of motor homes different from the one Laoretti currently drives to tournaments across the country.

Meanwhile, Slotline says it is about to introduce a Laoretti line of golf putters. Spalding, whose Top-Flite golf ball line is promoted in big letters across his hat, this week ran print ads featuring Laoretti. Several big-name golf resorts are pressing hard to get Laoretti to associate with them. And speakers bureaus are already trying to book him for the rubber chicken circuit at $5,000 a pop.

“He’s a real guy’s guy,” said Jeffrey M. Siegel, who is Laoretti’s agent and managing partner at Vantage. “Golf needs more characters like him.”

If American Express ever brings back its old ad campaign, Laoretti should be the first guy they sign up, said Bob Carr, publisher of Inside Sporting Goods. And when Laoretti asks, “Do you know me?,” he said, “It’s a good bet nobody will.”

Briefly. . . .

Hilton Hotels Corp. has placed its $16-million account--now handled by McCann-Erickson/Los Angeles--under review . . . Venice-based Chiat/Day/Mojo’s New York office will no longer handle the Chemical Manufacturers Assn.’s $8.5-million ad account . . . AT&T; is now questioning the ethics of MCI in new TV commercials that claim that MCI’s ads mislead viewers into believing MCI’s international calling rates are 50% cheaper than AT&T;’s . . . Phillips-Ramsey of San Diego has won the ad account for UniFiber USA, a San Diego golf shaft maker . . . Alta Dena Home Delivery has handed its ad account to Hawkins Advertising of Newport Beach . . . Four Los Angeles ad executives will participate in the judging for the “New Clios,” which will take place July 31 and Aug. 1 in Chicago . . . The advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Co. announced that it has paid $9.5 million to settle a class-action suit filed by American shareholders.

LAORETTI’S RAGS TO RICHES

After winning the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament, here is how golfer Larry Laoretti’s appeal to marketers has changed in just one week. He is expected to earn up to $300,000 immediately from these endorsements.

SPONSOR: BEFORE SENIOR OPEN WIN Consolidated Cigar: Supplied him with 250 cigars a month and a small stipend. LaMode Corp.: Supplied him and his wife with golf clothing. Spalding: Supplied him with some golf equipment. Slotline (maker of clubs): Supplied him with some golf putters. Probe (maker of drivers): Supplied him with some golf drivers. Custom Coaches (motor home company): No tie-in. Ebel (watch maker): No tie-in. TV golf specials: None.

SPONSOR: AFTER SENIOR OPEN WIN Consolidated Cigar: Will begin big cigar promotion around him & pay large bonus. LaMode Corp.: Ad campaign planned around him. Contract extended three years. Spalding: New ad campaign in the works. Slotline (maker of clubs): Will introduce a line of Larry Laoretti putters. Probe (maker of drivers): Sent him stock in company. Custom Coaches (motor home company): Negotiating sponsorship. Ebel (watch maker): Just signed sponsorship deal. TV golf specials: Invited by ABC Sports to appear in “Three Tours Challenge.”