Once-Benched Magic Scores Big on the Rebound

It’s rare for a professional athlete long retired from the sports world to score with commercial and product endorsement deals.

It’s even more unexpected when the player in question is Earvin “Magic” Johnson, whose endorsement career stalled in 1991 when he abruptly abandoned his National Basketball Assn. career after testing positive for HIV.

Defying the odds, Johnson has returned to celebrity spokesdom. The former Los Angeles Laker point guard is pitching cardholder benefits for American Express and preaching responsible drinking for Adolph Coors. He recently became Starbucks Coffee’s only domestic joint-venture partner and plans to open restaurants with TGI Friday’s.

The star of the NBA’s “Showtime” during the late 1980s could further polish his endorsement potential if “The Magic Hour,” a syndicated, late-night talk show that debuts June 8, clicks with viewers.

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Johnson’s commercial rebound suggests that advertisers are catching up with consumers who were stunned by the bombshell Johnson dropped during a dramatic 1991 news conference at the Forum. Within a year of the announcement, Johnson, who’d pitched products for Pepsi-Cola and Converse, had faded from the endorsement arena.

“Magic’s career is a fantastic statement about where we’ve come from as a society,” said Bob Williams, president of Burns Sports, a Chicago-based sports marketing firm. “He’s making a comeback that no one has ever made before. And he’s beating all the critics, including me, who’d long ago written him off. It’s a wonderful development.”

Observers caution that two commercials are far from proof that society is coming to grips with HIV and AIDS.

“It would be a mistake to sit here and think that there’s a universal acceptance of people with HIV/AIDS,” said Robert H. Dunn, president and chief executive of San Francisco-based Business for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit group that represents 1,000 businesses nationwide.

“But Magic Johnson’s return to commercials is clearly a metaphor for a broader understanding and acceptance of HIV/AIDS in society and the workplace.”

Johnson’s future success will be determined in large part by his health. His physicians recently reported that drug therapy has reduced the presence of HIV in his blood to undetectable levels.

Associates say he’s thrown himself into preparations for the talk show. If the show and business dealings are successful, Johnson might eventually join the select group of former athletes--including commercial real estate executive Roger Staubach and auto industry magnate Roger Penske--who are known as much for their business coups as their sporting achievements.

“Very few athletes can transcend sports,” said Lee Berke, a senior vice president with Marquee Group, a New York-based sports marketing company. “There are the all-stars, but there also are the legends . . . and one day, kids growing up might know Magic as the businessman, the financier, the guy who operates movie theaters.”

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Lon Rosen, Johnson’s agent, said his client has been approached by a variety of would-be partners seeking endorsement deals. But Johnson has rejected most of them--including proposals by two major shoe companies--because “he’s very selective” about which companies he does business with, Rosen said.

Rosen said Johnson didn’t drop out entirely from the endorsement scene, since he made commercials for Kodak as recently as the 1996 Olympics.

“Retired athletes generally don’t get commercials,” Rosen said. “But Earvin is different. He keeps reinventing himself.”

Johnson’s new commercials grew out of behind-the-scenes dealings with corporate executives.

The fast-paced American Express ad shows snippets of the NBA star’s career, with quick asides from observers such as NBA Commissioner David Stern. The spot is one in a series that features fashion designer Vera Wang, snowboarder Jake Burton and golfer Tiger Woods.

American Express included Johnson because he’s a “card member who has really achieved higher goals,” said spokeswoman Emily Porter. “It’s about excellence, a sense of adventure and thinking big. We feel Magic Johnson is a great individual to represent American Express because he has those traits.”

Johnson and top American Express executives have a mutual interest in Passport, an annual fashion show and HIV/AIDS fund-raiser held in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Johnson chairs the star-studded event, and longtime corporate sponsor American Express has donated more than $2.2 million.

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Similarly, the Coors commercial that uses Johnson’s easygoing personality to breathe life into serious subject, also stemmed from behind-the-scenes relationships with brewery executives.

“Magic Johnson has had an ongoing relationship for years with senior folks in our marketing department,” said Coors spokeswoman Lori Ciesielski. “He’s been a terrific business partner for us.”

While Johnson hasn’t appeared in a Pepsi commercial since 1992, the soft drink company isn’t shutting the door on a return by the personality, who has been allied with Pepsi since 1988. Pepsi continues to fund AIDS initiatives recommended by Johnson, including several Magic Johnson Playrooms that are open to children with AIDS.

Though he’s been out of the limelight for seven years, Johnson has strong name recognition among all age groups, experts say.

“When he made that announcement [about HIV], he took a hit. But as a personality, he’s stood the test of time pretty well,” said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations/TVQ, a Manhasset, N.Y.-based firm that tracks name recognition.

Besides picking up endorsements and preparing for his talk show, Johnson has been using his charm and corporate connections to craft a string of joint ventures designed to lure big-name retailers into underserved urban neighborhoods.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System has invested $50 million in a joint venture with Johnson and Victor B. MacFarlane, a San Francisco-based real estate advisor. So far, the venture has purchased Ladera Center and Margarita Plaza, two Los Angeles-area shopping centers that are now being refurbished.

In March, Johnson Development became Seattle-based Starbucks’ first U.S.-based joint-venture partner when a Starbucks opened in Ladera Center. The deal was unusual because Starbucks has never shared ownership of its 1,600 domestic locations.

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Another joint venture with Dallas-based Carlson Companies plans to open TGI Friday’s restaurants adjacent to Magic Johnson cinemas, which are co-owned through another partnership with Sony Theaters.

And Johnson recently joined singer Janet Jackson and record industry executive Jheryl Busby in buying a majority stake worth nearly $3 million in Founders National Bank, California’s only African American-owned bank.

The joint ventures are structured in a way that lets the partners handle daily operations. Johnson’s role is to help identify potentially profitable locations and leverage his personality to reach out to customers.

“The value we bring is a clear understanding of how to do business in the inner city,” said Johnson Development President Kenneth Lombard. “That includes the community outreach needed to maximize the level of support our projects get in the community.”

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It’s Showtime

Earvin “Magic” Johnson is making a comeback to celebrity spokesdom. His current deals include:

Endorsements

American Express: Johnson recent landed a television commercial that promotes American Express cardholder benefits. The commercial is one of a series starring fashion designer Vera Wang, snowboarder Jake Burton and golfer Tiger Woods.

Adolph Coors: A series of three commercials recently completed for the brewing company feature Johnson speaking out against underage consumption of alcoholic beverages. The first commercial began running in May. The two remaining commercials will run during the summer months.

Business ventures

Magic Johnson Theatres: A joint venture with Sony Theaters has opened cinemas in the Crenshaw District, Atlanta and Houston. Additional theaters are planned in nine other cities.

Starbucks Coffee: Johnson recently became the Seattle-based coffee company’s first domestic joint--venture partner, with a location in Ladera Center. The joint venture will open an unspecified number of stores in urban locations.

TGI Friday’s: Johnson Development is a joint--venture partner in a company that will open TGI Friday’s restaurants near Magic Johnson Theatres. About a half a dozen locations are planned.

California Urban Investment Partners: A $51.5-million joint venture with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System that invests in commercial real estate projects in urban areas. The joint venture has acquired two Greater Los Angeles properties: Margarita Plaza Shopping Center and Ladera Center.

Source: Magic Johnson Development