• by OMMA Editors , July 15, 2010

The T-shirt emblazoned with the hashtag #ny<3lebron given to us by The Fader crew (who, like any good New Yorkers, were just doing their bit to spread the word for the campaign to get LeBron James to sign with the Knicks) still smolders in the incinerator where we dumped it before writing this. Yes, the cover of the New York Post said it best when it said so eloquently: "LeBum."

In addition to the T-shirt we have even been known to sport the blue and orange #ny<3lebron headband that came with it (at editorial board meetings, no less). You've broken our hearts, LeBron, and now all we've got to show for it are the ashes of a T-shirt and the remnants of some nifty social media campaigns (which you can read about on our back page).

As for The Fader, well we hope they are holding up under the bad news that James opted not to come to New York but to play for the Heat in Miami. In other sports-Fader-related news we tip our hats to the fine work The Fader did on behalf of Nike Sportswear on a campaign around the World Cup called Pitch Perfect, an amalgam of music, art, sport and culture with hubs on TheFader and Nike.com (which you'll learn more about in an upcoming issue, um, LeBron).

The campaign basically outstripped the other soccer-themed campaigns out there (most of which seemed to have very little life outside fans' interests in their teams) by celebrating the nations in the tournament, and once again brought to mind the increasingly complex roles publishers play in today's media. One of the sectors we championed in last month's list of our 100 Most Important Online Publishers were those publishers who provided value for brands beyond display ad space. The list generated a fair amount of comment, praise and criticism, which we hope will be a continuing and evolving process.  
 
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