Short Takes

BARBIE TEES UP

Believing that early branding leads to long-term loyalty, Barbie has teamed up with Cougar Golf to market a line of Barbie-branded golf gear to girls ages four to nine. “We know golf continues to grow in popularity among girls, and it is a great way for girls to get active while participating in an activity with their families and friends,” said a Barbie rep. The golf sets introduced this week at the PGA Merchandise show in Orlando, are available now at Target and Wal-Mart for $39.99; a six-pack of Barbie golf balls goes for $6.99. There’s no word on the price of embarrassment for Dad if he should accidentally grab the Barbie-branded balls as he heads out for a round with the guys.

DRESSING WITH SPIRIT

Heard from L.A. Designer Betsy Stephens, just out with what she touts as the “latest greatest man-magnet.” (Sheesh) She’s pushing a line of “shimmering crystal team logos on bags, belts and scarves.” The whole shebang is supposed to be available at B for Betsy.com, with logos from most major sports franchises. Some pictures were missing, and others, like NY Knicks apparel, seemed a tad overpriced, given how poorly the team is faring these days. Still, if you’re a true fan, money’s no object, right?

THE GREAT ONE HEATS UP

Former hockey star Wayne Gretzky is still keeping his hand in the game with the new “Therma-Blade.” Which is what, exactly? “Thermablade is designed to maintain a consistent temperature of approximately 5 degrees Celsius using a small battery and a microprocessor stored within each skate blade holder. The warm blade acts to increase the thickness of the water layer between the blade and the ice surface, dramatically reducing gliding friction and starting resistance for skaters.” Oh. We’ll have to take Gretzky’s word for it, because that stuff is WAAAY over our head. So’s the price: $399.99 a pair. We’ll stick with our sissified figure skates. It’s not like we’ll be hitting into any power plays anytime soon, anyhow. Details are at ThermaBlade.com/en.

SPONSORSHIPS GOING FAST

Racket fanatics are glued to the tube this week as the US Open tennis championships plays out in New York’s Forest Hills. But if you really want to reach a high-end demographic audience, get ahold of our friends at sports marketing firm Weil & Associates. They’re the marketing geniuses behind this year’s 2007 US Open Squash Championships. According to a release they annoyed us with, Squash players are “86% male, mostly white (81%), are about 43 years old, with four years or more of college, and have a mean household income of $287,000. Which explains why they’re a coveted demographic, and why we have no friends who play Squash. We used to call them Yuppies. With an adjective that began with an “F”.

THE TRANSPARENCY IS CLEAR

We’re not much for water sports, but we do have a few concerns about the new offerings from See Through Canoe, a company pushing its unique line of watercraft. As the name implies, they have a canoe that’s completely transparent. The product is designed “to provide water enthusiasts with a complete three-dimensional contact with all the nature around at any given time—the water before you, below you and all that swims and lives beneath the surface.” They also sell a few kayaks with viewing windows in the bottom, and therein lies our question: If it’s clear, how will you know when you pop a leak? Won’t the water IN the boat look just like the water OUTSIDE the boat? This is just one reason why we stay on dry land. (We also worry that the Monster of the Lake will be better able to track and attack us in a clear boat, but that’s another story.) For those braver than us, details can be found at See Through Canoe.com.

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

It’s always chancy when men wander into uncharted territory. Case in point today: A pitch we got for “a unique and much needed liner called GO by San Diego-based company Go Girl!” The device (thing?) is apparently a disposable liner to be worn in place of underwear when working out, or, as they put it, “An absorbent, flexible, breathable and discreet athletic liner for the active girl that fits perfectly in the crotch lining of the wearer's workout pant or short—no bulge, no worry. A simple idea created by women, for women.” Besides the disposable part, we’re not so sure how this differs from cotton undies. Aren’t you supposed to sweat when you work out? So you have to wash some clothes; big deal. Clearer answers can probably be found at their Web site, Go Girl Liner.com. We got as far as the welcome page before we chickened out.

HEY, GIVE 'EM POINTS FOR TRYING

A Chinese company has been shot down by a government agency for attempting to sell what no one else sells: “World Cup Air.” The Xinhua News Agency reports that Beijing Lunar Village Aeronautics Science and Technology Company was trying to sell $6.60 bags of air it said it captured at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. A Chinese People’s Court ruled "air is too vague and unstable a concept to be covered by commercial classifications." Yeah, sure, until you stand next to one of those sweaty Phoenix people in July. THEN what would you pay for some fresh air, hmmm?

SUPER PROMOTION

Despite being more than two weeks away, the noise from the upcoming Super Bowl is getting louder every day. Today we got a note from Robert Horowitz of JUMA Entertainment, offering himself to media outlets as an expert on Super Bowl commercials. Normally, we’d immediately hit “delete” on such a seemingly self-serving piece of spam, but he sweetened the offer by including a Link to what he calls the “Top 15 Super Bowl commercials of all time.” We admit we spent WAAAAY too much time enjoying these all over again. So, give a little, get a little, we always say. Horowitz can be reached through his PR contact, Ben Mann at mann@formulapr.com

HELMET COVERS AIN’T THE PROBLEM

Despite the nasty weather affecting the rest of the country, here in the Northeast it’s been a different story up until this week: a milder than usual winter has ski resorts and ski suppliers in a funk. So we sympathize with crazeeHeads Inc., manufacturers of helmet covers for skiers and snowboarders, trying to sell their product when the main ingredient that goes with it—snow—is in short supply. But, having a teen snowboarder lurking about our household, we sense there might be a bigger problem; the “cool” factor. CrazeeHeads makes faux animal heads and animal skins that wrap around a snow enthusiast’s helmet. It’s pretty cool if you’re three; not so much if you’re 16 and trying to attract a girl. Still, the product line at their site does bring a smile or two with its whimsy. Now if they could just find a way to bring some snow, that might help, too.

WHEN IN DOUBT, GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE!

Up until this morning, we’d never even heard of the Resort Sports Network, or RSN. But in their ongoing effort to bring viewers to their Site and market themselves a bit, they’ve added a "Crash of the Day" video clip to their homepage. Yeah, that oughta do it. As RSN.com right now is featuring everything skiing, the daily clip shows some poor schmoe taking a header down a mountain. They promise to put up a new clip every day, which is sure to cause folks to bookmark the site and visit it daily. (Remember, in this business, it’s all about the eyeballs.) And we especially like the thinking of the Web programmer who posts the pieces daily: "Just be glad the guy tumbling down the hill isn't you!" Well said.