Marketing and all things related

Forget that Kobe Bryant successful ducked sexual assault charges in 2003—the basketball superstar is back in the celebrity endorsement game with Sony Playstation. Sony will feature Bryant as the spokesperson and box art star for the release of NBA ’07 for Sony Playstation 2 and Playstation Portable System. Bryant will appear on two television spots, and print will run in gaming and lifestyle magazines. “Kobe is the best player in the NBA, and we couldn’t be more excited to be partnered with him,” said Sharon Shapiro, senior director, promotions and sports product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America “Consumers respond very well to marketing with Kobe.” Maybe Sharon forgot about the sexual assault, but Marketing Blurb has not. We think Sony could use another player as a role model for gamers. We learned about this from Brandweek.