• by David Kaplan , March 16, 2005

March Madness has brought athletic shoe marketer New Balance together with CBS' marketing arm, Viacom Plus, to launch a new media campaign surrounding the upcoming NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

The campaign, which features as its tagline, "There are two motivations in sports. Which is yours? For Love or Money?," will include a broadcast and Web component, with commercials airing on 10 local CBS TV stations around the country, as well as a major presence on CBS SportsLine.com.

The campaign began March 12 in conjunction with the kickoff of the NCAA Conference Championships, and will run through the Final Four games, ending on April 4.

Viacom Plus worked with New Balance and their agencies Boathouse, which handled creative, media and account management, and Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, which ran the broadcast buying, in crafting this part of the media plan, which also includes outdoor, radio, and print work, a CBS spokesman said.

The 10 CBS stations will each air 15- and 30-second spots throughout CBS Sports' coverage of the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, late and local morning newscasts on the stations will include a 5-second New Balance "bumper" spot leading into a 30-second commercial for the sneaker company, strategically placed around sports-related segments. Also included in the television component of the campaign are 15-second New Balance-branded "tune in" spots, encouraging viewership of the championship while celebrating the motivation of amateur athletes.