Michael Vick may still be a hated man by many people in the country, but his popularity is undeniable. Students at his high school were leading a movement to have his jersey put back up on display, and Vick was named the Comeback Player of the Year in the NFL. He became an MVP candidate with his stellar play last year and even earned an endorsement deal with apparel company Unequal Technologies, angering one of our writers. Even if you disagree with Vick being a company’s spokesman based on moral grounds, you cannot argue that the man can’t sell.
The Wall Street Journal had a story recently about Unequal’s decision to take a gamble on Vick by making him their spokesman. Vick apparently wanted stock in the company rather than money, making the decision to hire him even more difficult. The bold choice by Unequal paid off in a 1,000% increase in sales, and the announcement of the partnership led to 10 million hits on their website.
The whole article is worth a read, and it shows that at least one company was rewarded for believing in Vick and making the right call. I’m just disappointed we didn’t tab him to help pimp LBS. 10 million hits? Yeah, we could have lived with that.
