Reebok Marketing Campaign Draws Criticism

The images that sell Reebok sneakers these days are edgy.

A controversial television ad last year had 50 Cent, a former drug dealer who has rapped about being shot nine times, counting aloud the bullets that were fired at him. The rapper laughs and then looks into the camera as a voiceover asks, 'Who do you plan to massacre next?' The ad was withdrawn in Great Britain.

These days, however, there�s more money in selling to teenage males - a reality not lost upon Adidas-Salomon AG, which completed a $3.8 billion buyout of Reebok International Ltd. Jan. 31 and plans to keep the Reebok brand name alive. Reebok's profits rose more than 20 percent in both 2003 and 2004, and were up 37 percent through the first nine months of last year.

'Promotion and marketing footwear, or any clothing, is not, and must not be a moneymaking tool referencing gun violence, drugs or gangs,' said Liz Bishop-Goldsmith, president of Rosedale, N.Y.-based Mothers Against Guns. "