Bloomberg

February 9, 2007

By Aaron Kuriloff

Manning's Pitchman Appeal Rises On Super Bowl Win

Winning the Super Bowl boosted Peyton Manning's already considerable power as a celebrity endorser, according to an index tracking sponsor appeal.

A survey taken less than 48 hours after the National Football League championship game for the Davie-Brown Index found that awareness of the Indianapolis Colts' quarterback increased among all U.S. consumers to almost 74 percent.

Manning's index was 68 percent before the victory on Feb. 4, according to the index, which ranks celebrities by their ability to influence product sales.

Winning the game's Most Valuable Player award turned Manning, 30, from someone who already had the marketing power of U2 singer Bono to a celebrity pitchman as well known as the actor and musician Sting, according to the index.

``After a major event like the Super Bowl, there's a halo effect for the winning players and the MVP in particular,'' Jeff Chown, president of Davie-Brown Talent, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc., said in a statement. ``Americans like winners.''

Manning already was the league's most marketable player, according to a survey by the Sports Business Journal. He appeared last season in national commercials for MasterCard Inc., DirecTV Group Inc., Disney's ESPN, PepsiCo Inc.'s Gatorade, Adidas AG's Reebok and Sprint Nextel Corp.

While Manning always scored near the top of NFL players on the index, which ranks celebrities on criteria including appeal, trust, influence and awareness, winning the title still gave him a boost.

Index Jump

Manning's overall Davie-Brown score rose four points to 74, topping that of his coach, Tony Dungy, who jumped less than a point to 66.1. Manning is approaching the score of Joe Montana, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who is the highest- ranked NFL player on the list with a 74.8. Golfer Tiger Woods leads all athletes, with an 86.1.

NFL players don't usually rank among the leading celebrity endorsers because each team includes more than 50 men who play in a helmet, face mask and pads, said Scott Sanford, senior account director for Davie-Brown.

Manning is an exception to that rule, according to Joyce Julius and Associates, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, company that gauges the impact of corporate sponsorships.

His face appeared on-screen, in-focus for more than six minutes during the Super Bowl, the company found. Chicago Bears Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher appeared on screen for 2:22, although he was on the field as much as Manning.

Announcers mentioned Manning's name 86 times and Urlacher's 27 times, Joyce Julius's study found.

While the Super Bowl boosted Manning's overall rating, it had some negative consequence for Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who threw two interceptions in the game.

Grossman's Davie-Brown score for awareness rose six points after the game, even as his score for appeal dropped five points.

``A reputation is a fragile thing, whether you're a president, an actor or an NFL quarterback,'' Chown said.