LeBron taking his talents to...Liverpool?

LeBron James is on his way to becoming the billion dollar name he has always desired to be.

Fenway Sports Marketing -- the sister company of the Red Sox -- said Wednesday it has signed James and the management company he helped create, LRMR, to a long-term deal to secure marketing and sponsorship opportunities. As part of the deal, James obtained a piece of Liverpool FC, one of the world's most famed soccer teams and a longtime marquee franchise in the English Premier League.

FSM handles the marketing for the Red Sox, Liverpool and Roush Fenway Racing, and now it will handle James, too.

"What FSM does for Roush Fenway, Liverpool and the Red Sox, we will now do for LeBron James," FSM President Sam Kennedy said. "We will aggressively pursue business opportunities for him."

The obvious goal of all parties involved with this deal is creating a GLOBAL BRAND

With the addition of LeBron James, FSM has essentially created a global marketing Holy Trinity in Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox, and LeBron James, 3 HUGE globally recognized brands.

Haters may say LeBron has no business owning stock in soccer, and his avid love for the Yanks make his move to ink a deal with the Sox confusing. But in my opinion, the move is BRILLIANT.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT LEBRON'S NEW DEAL?

~Z

Favorite Sports Ads

We all have sports ads that appeal to us, whether that be banners, commercials, or viral videos. For me personally, my favorite sports ads employ either humor or swagger. These are a few of my favorites...

Nike's Ad with LeBron James that claims,"YOU WANT TO BE BETTER THAN ME," is one of my favorites because it sticks with you. LeBron is looking completely yoked in this pic, and he's about to throw down. This awesome pic coupled with the fact that he's one of the best in the league makes Nike's pitch that much more powerful.

By far one of my favorite ad campaigns of ALL-TIME is adidas' "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING." I connect with it personally because my favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

The "Fast Don't Lie" viral music video is one of my favorites because it's absolutely ridiculous with a dash of swagger (get it? dash like as in cooking, but also cause it's a video about speed...ya...skills). From 1:31 on it's pure joy.

The K-Swiss Tubes ads with Kenny Power are genius. Kenny Powers oozes cockiness, and his trashing of actual world class athletes is hilarious...translation, best spokesperson ever.

Lastly, Nike's "My Better is Better Than Your Better." I love this campaign. Having people tell me they're better than my best makes me want to work harder to eclipse them.

All in all, the most important duty each of these ads have is they have to actually motivate consumers to buy what they're pitching. So here's my question to you...

DO THESE ADS WORK?

~Z