Linsanity

The New York Knicks have a point guard sensation named Jeremy Lin. He's not "just" a basketball player - he's a Harvard Grad.* Today's New York Post covers the "story"* of brands beating down Lin's agent's email in hopes of getting on board what's anticipated may become a "global-marketing juggernaut."

Page Six's source alluded to the volume of reach-outs Lin has received culminating with this flourish as the coup de gras: "He's met with IMG."

Oh yes. If you want to be a marketing force, if you want to be a brand - who you gonna call? Debbi Wilkes? For all her experience coupled with the sort of marketing acuity that speaks for itself, I'd say no. It's still IMG.

Unless you've made Debbi-directed decisions in your strategic marketing and publicity life that have become legitimate marketing agentry kryptonite. That's when you make a side trip to Japan to figure skate among wafting CGI rose petals to the great entertainment of everyone on tumblr.**

The Lin source mentions that it can take a year to nail down the types of deals being set up for Jeremy (Reportedly, Lin feels above the luxury watch market popular with other star b-ballers - he wants to bring Harvard in there somehow as part of his brand - a bit less ostentatious). I suppose that's similar except not to having your biggest deal (VM's with Roots) go down the toilet in less than a year when it was touted to be for four years.

But if Scott and Tessa were with IMG, chances are we'd never have gotten this:

This is classic Olympic gold medal winning endorsement quality right here.
It's just like the stuff Michelle Kwan did for Chevrolet.

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*Safe bet the "story" came from Jeremy Lin's agent as the agent (Roger Montgomery) is the only non-star name bolded in the item even though the quotes are from an unnamed "source".

**I called this a "Hyandai" commercial in a prior post. It's Toyota hybrid - its brand qualities beautifully expressed by Tessa and Scott above and especially when the rose petals magically reconfigure into a bouquet once Tessa is comfortably soporific in the back seat.

Toyota can repurpose this commercial down the line - sell it out as stock footage for the happy pill market. Not cause I'm sleepy watching it but just look at those faces.
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*"Balance" is important to Jeremy.