This year's Che Guevara T-shit (GOAT related)
Junior
4,853 Posts
Muhammad Ali sells rights to his image 
Expect Ali inflatable punching bags by Xmas.Some will see it as another stage in the poignant decline of the greatest boxer the world has known. Muhammad Ali, fabled for his grace in the ring and his political activism outside it, has sold the rights to his name and likeness to the company that owns the Pop Idol franchise.The retired heavyweight fighter originally known as Cassius Clay will receive $50m (??28m) from the New York firm CKX, in return for an 80% stake in his licensing company, Goat - an acronym derived from his self-chosen soubriquet, the Greatest Of All Time. He and his fourth wife, Lonnie Ali, will retain control of the remaining 20%.Ali, 64, who suffers from pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome, said the deal would "help guarantee that, for generations to come, people of all nations will understand my beliefs and my purpose".But profiting from his name without offending his admirers could prove a challenge for CKX, which has made most of its money from Pop Idol, American Idol and the rights to Elvis Presley's image[/b] , for which it paid $100m to Lisa Marie Presley in 2004.Out of respect to Ali's Muslim faith, CKX chairman Bob Sillerman said, his name would not be used to endorse alcohol or gambling. Rampant commercialisation was "not what Muhammad Ali is about", he told the LA Times. "Could we sell a coffee cup with a picture of Ali on it? Sure. Is it likely? Not at all."Mr Sillerman said the Ali family had made "a conscious decision to keep a pretty low profile". Only two companies are permitted to use Ali's image: Adidas, which markets Muhammad Ali Classic trainers, and computer game firm Electronic Arts, which sells simulations in which players can box against him.The tension in Ali's career between political campaigning and profit-driven marketing has long divided the boxing world. In a 2001 biography, the writer Mark Kram argued that the boxer was "no more a social force than Frank Sinatra". He was "not about the anti-war movement; that was peripheral, a college-kid issue that he tolerated and used. He was not about the counterculture and certainly not women's rights."His official biographer, Thomas Hauser, contends that Ali was a powerful social force - but that his political positions, which included support for racial segregation, have been sanitised in recent years for commercial reasons. In 1998 the boxer was appointed a UN Messenger of Peace, perhaps the ultimate symbol of uncontroversial goodwill."Great men are considered great," Hauser writes, "not only because of what they achieve, but also because of the road they travel to reach their final destination. Ali stood up for his convictions and sacrificed a great deal for them. So why hide the true nature of what his principles were?"CKX's licensing activities to date have not been so politically charged. Last year it acquired 19 Entertainment, the company formed by the pop impresario Simon Fuller, who brought the Spice Girls to prominence and created S Club 7.19 Entertainment recently entered into a marketing arrangement with David and Victoria Beckham which would, CKX said, create "an ideal opportunity to share in new and valuable content and relationships, each offering multiple revenue opportunities".
Comments
maybe Ali happy meals will follow.
what a wonderful world.
Anyone else remember at the olympics, when Ali lit that shit? His one arm was shaking like crazy, but the hand that was lighting it was solid as a rock. One of my all time fav TV moments.
"I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark."
Yeah, I mean if someone offered me $50 million for the rights to my name I can't say I would turn them down. Ali is no fool and I am fairly certain that there are some provisions in the contract about what his name can and cannot be used for.
As someone who is old enough to remember when they actuall sold Ali inflatable punching bags and lunch boxes, I can't say I see why this is a big deal. I think I still have the comic where Ali battles Superman!
This will no doubt generate much money for the family and their charitable foundations and causes.
Co-co-sign.
Anyone hating on The Illustrious and Praiseworth Mr. Ali for this should be ashamed.
I used to have that as a kid! They drew all kinds of hidden celebrities on the cover and had a "who's who" grid inside. Man I wish I still had that. I'm pretty sure someone just flipped that cover for an album, too.
I was @ that fight. Check me up front!
Edit: Google has found proof:
Ali As Superman
Howard,
the strangest things
have happened lately when I
take a good swing at all my dreams
they pivot and slip
I drop my fists and they're back
laughing
Howard,
my intention's become
not to lose what I've won
Ambition has given way to
desperation and I've
lost the fight from my eyes
Boxing's been good to me, Howard
now I'm told, "you're growing old"
The whole time you knew
in a couple of years I'd be through
Has boxing been good to you?
Howard,
now I confess
I'm scared and lonely and tired
They seem to think I'm made of clay
Another day
I'm not cut out for this
I just know what to say
I say
Boxing's been good to me, Howard
now I'm told, "you're growing old"
The whole time you knew
in a couple of years I'd be through
Has boxing been good to you?
Well sometimes I punch myself
hard as I can, yelling
"Nobody cares!"
hoping some one will tell me
how wrong I am
Howard,
Boxing's been good to me, Howard
Now I'm told
"you're growing old"
The whole time you knew
in a couple of years
I'd be through
has boxing been good. . .
has boxing been good. . .
has boxing been good?
Doods,
Cher and Donna and Marie in the hot spot. Things were really happening on TV back then. In addition I got Lucille Ball, Hal Linden (Barney Miller), Jackson 5, Woody Allen w/ a goatee, Peter Falk aka Columbo, Juan Epstein the puerto rican jew from Welcome Back Kotter, Wolfman Jack, The Fonz, Orson "I will sell no wone before its time" Welles, Jacquline SMith, maybe Andy Warhol and Ruth Buzzie.
Dick Grayson
Johnny Carson
Wally West
Charo
Jose Feliciano
Wolfman Jack
And the brova in tha' corner iz PELE.....!!!!
how about dude from MAD magazine creepin' by the ring...
Hal Jordan - Green Lantern
I have this at home w/ the full list.
Batmons ruling this shit.
Add Kurt Vonnegut, Sinatra, the guy who ran Mad Magazine (with Alfred E. Neumann), Gerald & Betty Ford, Raquel Welch, Wayne Rogers, Jackie Gleason & Ron Palillo (Horshack).
Never seen or heard of an Ali lunchbox in 12 years of collecting pails. Not in either of the guides either, that would be cool though. Me wants...