Anna Kournikova: The Anti-Agassi?

We know Andre Agassi for the politically correct reasons: He plays tennis, he wins, and many of his fans aspire to be like him.

We know Anna Kournikova because boys and men fawn over her but hardly for her ability on the court. Since the fall of 1999, when Lycos' search engine started tracking athletes on a weekly basis, she's consistently been among the most searched athletes.

Sports Illustrated dubbed Kournikova "Pornikova." Others were a little more diplomatic, noting that Anna proves that you don't have to excel as much as you have to be well-rounded both literally and figuratively. Some sports marketers even went so far as to say that talent is no longer the driving force and that, like Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears, it's all about how Kournikova's packaged.

She has appeared in numerous television ads, including promoting Lycos fantasy sports. One of the spots, which plays on the word "fantasy," has her agent and a crowd of men believing Kournikova will be playing "lingerie tennis." Fueled by the ad, which ran for the first time during ABC's Monday Night Football, Lycos fantasy football registration tripled from the previous year.

There's no denying that she's positioned to capitalize on her sex appeal and her agents have done a good job of selecting the products she endorses. In addition to having a computer virus named after her, she appeared on the cover of June 5, 2000 edition of Sports Illustrated seductively grasping a pillow on a bed. Would Billie Jean King have done that? Would it have sold additional copies of the magazine if she had?

Kournikova's name was also featured on the cover of the June 2002 Penthouse magazine when the publication said it believed it had 12 topless photographs of the tennis player. In fact, the photos were not of her, and she subsequently sued, seeking $10 million for defamation of character. The irony of this development was not lost on many who believed she had been subtlely promoting her sex appeal on the tennis court.

She makes more money in endorsements (roughly $10 $15 million a year) than her long-time doubles partner, Martina Hingis, who was consistently ranked number one in the world. Underlying all her product pitches is what we already know that she's merely an above-average professional tennis player.

Kournikova was supposed to be great. From 1998 to 2000, the Russian bombshell went from being ranked 13th in the world to eighth, but she never won a Women's Tennis Association singles title and injuries caused her to miss Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, resulting in her falling out of the top 20 by the end of 2001 and eventually spiraling down to number 73.

Even though she didn't play in Wimbledon, The London Daily Star featured "Kourny Korner," a daily pictorial that featured her in her scheduled Wimbledon attire.

Adidas officials have said they believe Kournikova transcends tennis and brings in not only the tennis consumer, but also those whose interest doesn't necessarily lie with the sport both male and female.

Kournikova has been dubbed one of Adidas' eight "brand symbols," along with such superstars as Kobe Bryant, Martina Hingis, and Sergio Garcia. Brand symbols are endorsers whose products sell beyond the sport category in which they play. However, she's the only athlete in the group who hasn't won an individual title or championship and although Adidas officials won't admit it, there has to be concern over her record.

How should managers feel about that colleague who dresses well or otherwise makes a great entrance yet lacks substance? What does it say about a company when it allows such an individual to represent the firm to customers, suppliers, or shareholders? Businesses that allow themselves to become reliant on such individuals must prepare themselves for the consequences should the strategy backfire.