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Brand It Like Beckham

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from: Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007, at 12:27 PM ET

Now in its 11th season, Major League Soccer is a relatively young sports franchise in North America, but games are televised on ESPN and enthusiasm is growing steadily. In January, legendary British soccer player David Beckham gave MLS its biggest boost yet by signing on with the Los Angeles Galaxy, bringing his game to the United States after several seasons with the Real Madrid club in Spain. Beckham's move has triggered an avalanche of publicity. Reportedly TomKat have helped Beckham and his wife, Victoria (formerly Posh Spice of the Spice Girls), with house-hunting, and on July 16, NBC will air a reality special titled Victoria Beckham: Coming to America. Advertising agency Weiden+Kennedy, which has won awards for ESPN commercials to promote Monday Night Football, has prepared a Beckham commercial for the sports network, and a storyboard for the spot* (see below and the following six pages) was recently posted on L.A. Riot Squad, a Galaxy fan site. The ad will feature "a Wilco-esque Americana" soundtrack of the Beatles tune "Hello, Goodbye," and visuals will show "America's anticipation and excitement for Beckham's arrival." (Target, another Weiden+Kennedy client, has been using the same Beatles song in an advertising campaign since January.) Beckham will be "unveiled" as a Galaxy player July 13, and he is expected to debut on the field July 21 in an exhibition game against Great Britain's Chelsea club.

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Correction, July 13, 2007: An earlier version of this column indicated the spot had not yet been released. ESPN had already begun airing the commercial by the time this piece was posted. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

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from: Bonnie Goldstein

Posted Wednesday, July 11, 2007, at 12:27 PM ET
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Bonnie Goldstein is a former special investigator to the U.S. Senate and investigative producer for ABC News.
Photograph of David Beckham on the Slate home page by Denis Doyle/Getty Images.
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