Fans fret over sponsor swap

Next season, Mark Martin's car - and some fans - will tout the men's product Viagra.

By KEVIN KELLY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 12, 2000

Spot Mark Martin fan Peter Camfferman at a Winston Cup race and you'll see a walking advertisement for Valvoline.

Camfferman and his family own -- and display -- dozens of hats, shirts, stickers and other items supporting their favorite driver and his primary sponsor.

So on June 30, when Camfferman saw Martin with his newly sponsored car for next season, Camfferman nearly fell out of his chair.

There, in oversized blue letters across the hood of Martin's No. 6 Ford, was the punch line to thousands of jokes: Viagra.

"You're going to take one of the top drivers in the garage and you're going to make him the laughingstock," said Camfferman, 43, of Seminole. "I personally have two friends of mine who use it. Both said there was no way in hell they would wear anything with Viagra on it."

Since Martin's team, Roush Racing, announced its multimillion-dollar sponsorship with Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra, some of his fans have accepted the new sponsor.

But some are confounded by the idea of displaying "Viagra" on their caps, shirts and car bumpers.

"I think (Roush Racing) may have missed a lot of opportunities by choosing to use Viagra as a primary sponsor," said Birmingham, Ala., resident Scott Spencer, a Martin fan since 1993. "From discussing things with my friends, it will be very difficult to purchase a T-shirt with the Viagra name on it.

"I guess, without being overly blunt, the next thing we'll see is an ad for Tampax for women's health. It's kind of hard to put into words specifically why I don't like it. I agree with the men's health angle. I just wish it wasn't so sexually related."

Pfizer, which makes the blue pill that helps overcome erectile dysfunction, agreed to sponsor Martin's car for a reported $15-million per year, one of the richest sponsorship deals in racing.

Among Pfizer's goals is to use Martin, 41, one of the racing's most popular and health-conscious drivers, to promote men's health issues.

"He's probably the best, most physically fit guy in NASCAR," said Fort Carson, Colo., resident Sharyn Doutt, a mother of two and a Martin fan since 1998. "Who better to promote men's health than Mark? I believe there's a lot of stigma with that drug. He's just the person to try to break down that stigma for people who need it."

Of concern to some are the potential questions from children. What are parents supposed to say when their sons and daughters ask what Viagra is?

"I'm not really sure how I'd approach it," Camfferman said.

Dr. L. Mickey Fenzel, an associate professor of psychology at Loyola College in Maryland, has an idea.

"Basically, the best rule of thumb is to not be evasive," he said, comparing the situation to the scandal involving President Clinton. "I think it's easily explained to most children to the point they have some understanding of how sex is an important aspect of lives of a man and woman that love each other."

When this Winston Cup season began, Jeff Fuller became the first driver in a car sponsored by Viagra.

Much lower-profile than Martin, Fuller drove the No. 27 Pontiac and endured countless jokes before being released from the team in April.

"The first race, obviously, everybody got all their kicks and whatever out of their system," Fuller said last week from his home in Mooresville, N.C. "As the races and season got under way, by the third or fourth race people understood (Pfizer and Viagra) were there to stay, and the serious side came about."

Martin knows he'll hear snickers, too, but thinks the sponsorship will increase awareness of men's health issues.

"It may not be the most popular move in the world, but to me, what's really important is what you can do," he said. "I believe a year, a year and a half from now, I will have a letter that comes to me from a fan that says, "Thank you for saving my daddy's life,' or "my buddy's life.' "

In February, Pfizer started the Men's Health Tune-Up for Life program to help educate men and their partners about common medical conditions.

"We've been working to continue delivering the message to guys that they need to see their doctor," said David Brinkley, worldwide team leader for Viagra. "If they feel like something's not going right, they can get checked out."

At every Winston Cup track, the Men's Health Tune-Up for Life trailer is set up in the infield. The program's staff uses questionnaires and medical tests to screen for common medical conditions such as high cholesterol, diabetes, depression and hypertension.

More than 8,000 men have taken advantage.

In addition to the mobile doctor's offices, there will be a souvenir trailer for Martin that will sell merchandise using his name, likeness and car as well as Viagra and/or Pfizer.

Putting the Viagra name on some of Martin's merchandise and not others is by design.

"We have over 1,500 licensed products," Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said. "Many, many of those products do not bear the name of the sponsor on them. The fans, we've found in many cases, are interested only in the driver's name, the color scheme and the number. Those same kind of choices are going to be out there for anyone that doesn't want to support the sponsor."

Pfizer will donate its share of the merchandise proceeds to the Men's Health Network, which Martin has endorsed in commercials this season.

"I think this suits him perfectly," said Kim Buffington, who deals with Roush Racing merchandising and is president of the official Mark Martin Fan Club. "I think more than anything, he will be setting a good example. Men's health just suits him. Viagra, you have to look beyond that. It's just a men's health issue."

Still, erectile dysfunction is an issue many men and some parents who are Martin fans don't wish to be confronted with at the race track.

It is an issue they will learn to live with, though.

"I think once the shock wears off, then people will learn to expect it," Doutt said. "He's going to be the same Mark we've always loved. I'm sure those trailers at the track, they're going to help somebody out there. Through Mark Martin and their awareness of health issues, if one or two guys learn something that will save their lives, the jokes will stop."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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