Emmitt Smith Stars In Reebok Ads

Looking to make Ken Griffey Jr. as big as Michael Jordan, Nike Inc. proposes the Seattle Mariner slugger as a write-in candidate for president. Now Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith and Reebok International Ltd. have a write-in campaign of their own.

Smith doesn’t want to be president; Smith and Reebok want American football to be designated as an Olympic sport.

At least that’s the theme of roughly a half-dozen television spots that Reebok plans to air before and during the summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Reebok says it announced the idea of a write-in campaign before Nike of Beaverton, Ore., began tub-thumping Griffey Jr. as presidential timber. But regardless of which footwear giant was first, a write-in campaign is a “good way to get kids involved,” said Reebok spokesman Dave Fogelson.

Reebok is already airing an introductory Olympic spot on Channel One, the television network aimed at school audiences.

No. 2 Reebok sees the Olympics as an opportunity to gain ground on No. 1 Nike, which may spend $35 million on marketing over the next few months, according to published reports. Reebok said it will spend $20 million, or about 20 percent of its annual marketing budget, on Olympic air time alone.