• by John Gaffney , May 27, 2002

MJ Riffs: One of the best media and marketing case studies in history never had a chance this year. Memorial Day was supposed to be Michael Jordan’s weekend. The weekend that he jump shot his underdog Washington Wizards into playoff glory and in the process took Nike, Gatorade and his other sponsors into sports marketing heaven. It was gonna be like the old days. Memorial Day weekend was about MJ hitting game winners and the Indy 500 running (if you cared.) Never happened, of course. Jordan’s comeback and most likely his career came to an end due to knee surgery. But I still think this poses a marketing and media challenge worth watching. What is Jordan’s second act going to look like? He’s not going to appeal to the hip-hop NBA crowd. He’s too old school. But he still represents something very attractive to companies looking for a pitchman. Here’s a guy who risked it all for the love of the game. He adapted his game to his changing skills. Donated his salary to the Sept. 11 fund. Made his team 100 percent better with a 1,000 percent effort. He used to be all about high-flying and clutch performances. Now he’s about integrity, adaptability and heart. Basketball misses Michael Jordan worse than NBC misses Seinfeld. But I think the media business misses him more. He will be back, with different skills and aimed at an older audience. Watching his comeback as a pitchman will be as intriguing as his other game - hoops........

NASCAR Riffs: Am I the only one offended by NASCAR post-race sponsorships? I watched the end of the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday night and was floored by the blatant and even amateurish promotion by winner Mark Martin and the members of his team. “Hey Mark how does it feel to win the race?” “Well, you know, I love my Gatorade (swills big bottle of Gatorade while his crew waves bottles of Gatorade at the camera) and we couldn’t have done it without Goodyear, and the other good folks, (a bottle of Aquafina water his thrust at him and he drinks from that).” Embarrassing. I guess the “S” in NASCAR does not stand for subtlety.