KOBE part 2- can he become the marketing machine he once was?

After 2 1/2 years, Kobe's first Nike ad airs
After overcoming sex scandal, Laker star returns as salesman

I'm sitting here in this chair....
I'm sitting here at my computer, staring at my screen wondering what today's entry on my blog will be.
I scan through the hundreds of cable channels available these days looking for some inspiration. I stop at a music video and think to myself man Im getting old. I scan through a few other channels before I stop at ESPN. I caught the last few minutes of Sports Center. Can't start my day without a few hours of Sports Center. Anyway Sports Center goes off and ESPN's program OUTSIDE THE LINES comes on. It a show where they deal with issues instead of highlights and sports scores.
Today's show is about Kobe Bryant, they talk about his new shoe and marketing campaign. They talk about the previous court case and all the sponsors who bounced on him when he was an accused rapist.

And how McDonald's, Nutella and Coke have not renewed his contract.

The theme of the show was Kobe- part 2
and ask the question was that 81 point performance and they way he is single-handily trying to bring the Lakers back and carrying them on his back, will that be enough to bring Madison Avenue back to his door.

Sure his number 8 jersey is the number one seller since the 81 point game
and anything in the NBA store with his name and the numbers 81 is flying off the shelf, but can he become the marketing machine he once was, BT (before trial)

Pleased with his play on the court, Nike is ready to test Kobe Bryant’s ability as a salesman. Bryant’s first televised ad with the shoe company will debut during NBA programming Thursday night, more than 2½ years after he signed an endorsement deal with the sneaker company in the summer of 2003. Soon after he struck the deal with Nike, Bryant was charged with sexual assault.

The ad coincides with the release of the Zoom Kobe I sneaker Saturday and seeks to capitalize on the renewed popularity of Bryant. Interest in the Los Angeles Lakers star has been the on rise this season, especially after his 81-point game last month, the second-highest total in NBA history.

It made me go hmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!
We are so forgiving folks aint we.

After O.J. Simpson turned in his ghetto card and turned his back on his people and his black wife, we all were there supporting the gridiron great, even his first wife, who he left for a white girl.

As my man Ced has said before, just because they black and famous don't make them innocent.

But as one expert in the show pointed out innocence isn't always enough in some cases. O.J. was found not guilty but he will never run through the airport for AVIS again, and I think his movie and sport commentators career are as over as Millie Vanilli's singing career.

What will it take for Kobe to restore his image. Will his 81 point performance be enough to sell sneakers, that's what Nike is betting on. They are risking a lot because they know we will forgive almost anything if our athletic heros continue to perform, entertain and continue to defy our expectations.

We the hip-hop generation and we as black people have proven Madison Avenue right before. Ray Lewis was once again marketable once he won the Superbowl and became the games MVP.

Can Kobe become the marketing machine he once were
and will we support anything he pushes and love him again cause of what he does on the court and lastly actually he is an athlete is what he does on the court far outweigh anything else as long as he does it well.

As always Im curious to hear what everyone else thinks about this