Money Belt : Foreman’s Victory Is an Advertising Knockout

It was the punch that packed a wallop.

George Foreman’s surprising knockout victory Saturday night to regain the heavyweight boxing crown appears to have created a new advertising superstar out of an aging, rotund athlete, marketing experts said Monday.

“I am sitting in my office with no less than 150 telephone messages from people wanting to make deals with him (Foreman),” said Henry Holmes, a Beverly Hills lawyer who has handled celebrity endorsements for the 45-year-old Foreman, who took the title from 26-year-old Michael Moorer with a 10th-round knockout.

Advertisers are offering millions of dollars for Foreman to hawk everything from cars to telephone credit cards, Holmes said.

“He’s even got a German company offering him money to come over for two days and do some inspirational speaking to their employees,” Holmes said.

Analysts say Foreman’s unlikely win, coupled with his reputation as a “clean-cut” family man and ordained minister, are just the ingredients needed to make him one of the most successful celebrity product spokesmen--ranking alongside basketball legend Michael Jordan and baseball/football star Bo Jackson.

“When (Foreman) lost in 1991, he still did well (as a celebrity pitchman),” said Nova Lanktree, president of Lanktree Sports Celebrity Network, a Chicago-based sports marketing consulting firm. “This win just adds to his appeal.”

Some analysts say Foreman, who has already demonstrated an appeal to the huge baby boomer generation, is a natural for advertisers looking for an inspirational pitchman to sell products to older people.

“He’s become an overnight sensation for all the weekend warriors that come home sore from playing sports,” said Bob Garfield, editor at large for Advertising Age magazine. “If (42-year-old tennis star) Jimmy Connors was good for Nuprin, George Foreman will be tremendous.”

Although boxing is usually not viewed as a sport that produces superstars with the kind of broad appeal of a Jordan or a Jackson, Foreman has been successful as a spokesman for products such as Doritos, Thompson Water Sealer and Meineke Discount Mufflers.

“George is warm, he’s trustworthy and people like him,” said Gene Zhiss, vice president of dealer services and communications for Meineke, a muffler repair chain that signed up Foreman to a three-year contract as its national spokesman.

“Everybody loves a winner,” said Jim Alleborn, vice president of marketing at Total Research Corp. “His equity is definitely going to go up.”

Most important, industry insiders say, Foreman’s win comes at a time when many consumers have lost faith in celebrity endorsers and some sports merchandisers are experiencing a slump.

“This has been a real crummy year in sports news, what with the fall of a hero, athletes beating up other athletes and strikes,” Lanktree said. “Then along comes this story that is almost a fairy tale.”

In addition to celebrity endorsements, analysts say Foreman stands to make a lot of money in TV, movie and book deals and possible contracts with companies like Sega and Genesis that have marketed successful boxing video games.

Holmes said Simon & Schuster has tentatively agreed to publish Foreman’s autobiography early next year.

Ads With Punch

Even before his comeback victory in the ring Saturday, boxer George Foreman had amassed an impressive list of commercials since resuming his professional career about seven years ago. The list includes:

* Kentucky Fried Chicken

* Oscar Mayer hot dogs

* McDonald’s hamburgers

* Nike shoes

* Texaco gasoline

* Doritos tortilla chips

According to Henry Holmes, Foreman’s Beverly Hills-based attorney, the boxer is currently appearing in advertisements for:

* Meineke mufflers and brakes

* Thompson’s water sealant products

Source: Associated Press