Kobe vs LeBron

The other day Jerry West said LeBron has surpassed Kobe and everyone else in the league, but he would still prefer Kobe in a clutch situation.

I don't know that anyone, Kobe fans included, can dispute this fact. LeBron is a FREAK.

But this discussion, coupled with the release of Kobe: Doin' Work made me think about something else.

Marketability.

When Kobe got caught up in the Colorado scandal, I remember he lost his Nutella sponsorship and I think that's right when his Adidas contract was up and he had just signed with Nike. I don't remember what happened with Sprite, but he hasn't done an ad for them in a long time. Since the Colorado scandal, I really can't think of any Kobe sponsor other than Nike.

LeBron, on the other hand has Nike, Powerade, State Farm, Vitamin Water, just off the top of my head.

Speaking of Nike, you may or may not have seen the Kobe Ankle Insurance ads. You may or may not have noticed but Nike has launched these Kobe and LeBron puppet ads that I love, and hope to see more of. These marketing approaches speak volumes about Kobe. In the former, he is a serious insurance salesman. In the latter he is a puppet. You know the last time Nike used a puppet to push an athlete?

Yes. Lil' Penny. You know why? Nike determined that Penny Hardaway did not have the charisma necessary to lead a campaign, so they hired Chris Rock to voice the puppet Lil' Penny.

Even a guy like Chris Paul, who plays for a small market team and isn't at this point nearly the player Kobe is, has Right Guard and Jordan as sponsors - more than Kobe. Dwight Howard has Adidas, McDonalds and T-Mobile - more than Kobe. Why does Kobe only have one sponsor? Maybe you have, but I haven't pondered this question before, and I got my answer as I watched the first half of Kobe: Doin' Work.

I only watched half of Kobe: Doin' Work because I could only listen to so much of Kobe saying, "Man this game is so fun. I love playing against *insert competitor* because he plays hard, and it's fun. Heh Heh. Sometimes me and Phil will say the same thing, it's amazing. Heh Heh." while watching a Lakers game set to soothing jazz melodies.

Kobe has no charisma...and he's kinda boring...and it kinda seems like he takes everything too seriously. Kobe is the guy at work who comes in early and stays late, and asks questions during meetings. Kobe is the guy at work who makes suggestions and takes initiative, but also makes his coworkers say, "Yeah, he's a good worker, but gosh...do you ever take a break? I'm glad I only work with this guy. If I hung out with him, he'd drive me crazy"

Something tells me LeBron: Doin' Work would feature a lot more laughter, more scenes of him clowning around with his teammates, and more half court and behind the backboard shots.

But you know what? Something tells me Jordan: Doin' Work would be THE EXACT SAME MOVIE as Kobe: Doin' Work. Personality-wise Kobe is more Jordan than any other person in the entire world. So why is it that Jordan has Hanes, Nike, Gatorade, Ball Park Franks (back in the day), Coca Cola? Jordan is just as boring in all of his commercials as we would expect Kobe to be. Hanes needs Charlie Sheen and Cuba Gooding Jr. just to get Michael through a commercial these days. Jordan gets deals because he is synonymous with success. It has nothing to do with his personality because quite frankly he's not that likeable.

Where am I going with all of this? To be honest I'm not quite sure. I think what I'm trying to say is that being the best in the NBA (right now, this generation, ever) certainly isn't a very important factor when it comes to marketability.

edit: 12:56am
I neglected to dismiss the Colorado scandal as a reason for Kobe's lack of sponsors. I honestly don't believe this to be the reason he doesn't have many sponsors because nobody really remembers it anymore. Maybe I'm just biased but that isn't in the top 10 things that come to mind when I think about Kobe. I think we live in a society where something like Kobe's Colorado scandal alone wouldn't keep someone from being sponsored.