ATLANTA, April 4, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Hooters of America
announced that the NCAA has pulled a full page ad promoting the popular
restaurant chain and featuring well known College Basketball Analyst Dick
Vitale from the Final Four Official Tournament Program. Word of the ad
removal reached Hooters Marketing Department late on Thursday when the ad
agency that had placed the ad on behalf of Hooters received an e-mail from
a representative of National Events Publications, which produces and sells
program ads for the NCAA. The ad in question is a Full Page 4 Color image
promoting Hooters 25th Anniversary Celebration and features Dick Vitale and
Sara Hoots, an appropriately named Hooters Girl, who happens to work for
Hooters at a restaurant in Selma, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio where the
Final Four is being played.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080404/CLF064 )
"My understanding is the NCAA had stated they would only consider the
ad if we removed the image of a Hooters Girl, which is absurd. That would
be like telling General Motors you can advertise but don't show a picture
of a car," stated Mike McNeil the Vice President of Marketing for Hooters
of America. "Sara is a beautiful, intelligent and hard working employee,
and we would never consider removing her image from the ad. I am concerned
by this last minute and seemingly arbitrary treatment. The basketball
tournament is an important time for our business, and the fact that certain
competitors of ours are allowed to advertise and we are not puts us at a
competitive disadvantage," continued McNeil.
The company had heard there were concerns about the ad a few weeks ago
but had assumed a communication from Dick Vitale personally to the NCAA
approving the ad had put the matter to rest. Dick Vitale has served as a
spokesperson for Hooters as part of the chain's March basketball
advertising since 2002 and has been featured in dozens of TV, Radio and
Print ads through the years. It was Vitale who got Hooters involved with
the V Foundation for Cancer Research in 2003 (named for Jim Valvano, the
popular College Basketball Coach and Commentator who died of Cancer) and
since that time Hooters has raised over $1 million for the worthwhile
charity, including the establishment of a Breast Cancer Research Fund in
the name of Kelly Jo Dowd, a former employee. "I am proud of my association
with Hooters, particularly their support of the V Foundation. They are a
great bunch of hard working people, and their hearts are in the right
place," stated Dick Vitale
Through the years Hooters has sponsored numerous college sports
activities, including the Hooters Hula Bowl College Football All Star Game
in Hawaii and the Hooters Match Play Championship, an NCAA sanctioned Golf
Tournament for Women's Golf Teams that has been won by Duke University the
past 3 seasons. Television Ads for Hooters featuring Dick Vitale were
approved by CBS's Standards and Practices in 2007 and actually ran during
last year's Tournament Games on the Network. Although Hooters Marketing was
advised this fall that it was unlikely the NCAA would allow them to run
again in 2008 even though the ads met all written criteria. "For reasons
that I will never understand, the NCAA has decided that they will treat
Hooters differently. They are ok with beer and chicken wings and they are
ok with cheerleaders but when you put it all together in a great restaurant
they suddenly have a problem. I hope people will look at the ad for
themselves and judge whether the NCAA is being fair," stated McNeil.
To view the Hooters basketball commercial featuring Dick Vitale, go to
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aa2VSCDnxBI .
Hooters of America, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of over 440
Hooters restaurants in 42 states and 24 foreign countries. The first
Hooters opened in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida and is celebrating the 25th
anniversary this year. Hooters is well-known for its brand of food and fun,
featuring a casual beach-theme atmosphere, a menu that features seafood,
sandwiches and Hooters nearly world famous chicken wings, and service
provided by the All- American cheerleaders, the Hooters Girls. For more
information about Hooters visit http://www.hooters.com .
SOURCE Hooters of America, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.hooters.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aa2VSCDnxBI
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080404/CLF064
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org AP PhotoExpress
Network: PRN 4 PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Mike McNeil, Vice President of Marketing,
Hooters of America, +1-770-951-2040
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