LEBRON JAMES Shoe companies making big bids

Adidas, Nike and Reebok are wooing the star.
AKRON (AP) -- LeBron James has something to catch his eye these days as he cruises around town in his new Hummer -- billboards and bus ads aimed at the high school basketball sensation by a shoe company wooing him with a multimillion dollar endorsement deal.
The ads that went up this week do not mention the likely top pick in next month's NBA draft by name, but there is no doubt who Adidas intended them for.
"Do You Want To Be The Next Superstar?" asks one ad. Others say, "Will You Use Fame To Change The World?" and "Will You Improve The Life Of One Person, One Family Of An Entire Community?"
James' publicist, Alexandria Boone, said James was aware of the campaign.
"LeBron saw them yesterday," she said Friday. "He liked them. He was very surprised. What 18-year-old wouldn't be?"
Adidas is going against Nike and Reebok for a shoe and apparel contract that could top $50 million.
Nike is front-runner
James was in Los Angeles last week as Adidas made its pitch. He was to go to Beaverton, Ore., this weekend to hear from Nike, considered the front-runner in the deal.
Sonny Vaccaro, head of Adidas' basketball operations in the United States, insists that the one-month campaign is not part of the effort to recruit James.
He said the idea is an extension of the long relationship the company has had with James and is meant to show that James can be more than a basketball player.
"He can be almost anything and he can carry his legacy beyond being a basketball player," Vaccaro said on Friday.
Adidas spokesman Travis Gonzolez said, "It's a tie-in through our presentation to LeBron and his family. We're trying to challenge him to be more than just a basketball player."
Adidas has done billboard advertisement campaigns before, but not with an athlete it was trying to recruit, Vaccaro said. NBA players who advertise for Adidas include Tim Duncan of San Antonio and Tracy McGrady of Orlando.
Big billboard ads
The ads are appearing on about 70 billboards around the city, said David Yale, spokesman for Clear Channel Outdoor. He would not comment specifically on how much the campaign costs, but he said a one-month campaign with a similar number of billboards in the area would run $53,000.
There also are 40 ads running on 20 buses at a cost of $4,000, according to the Metro Regional Transit Authority.
The campaign comes as James prepares for his pro career.
Earlier this week, he announced the selection of Aaron Goodwin of Oakland, Calif., as his agent.
Goodwin accompanied James to meetings with Adidas and Reebok officials. He was expected to announce an endorsement deal with a trading card company later Friday.