Emmitt Vs. Jerry Comes To TV Near You

Reebok International Ltd. is about to remind television viewers and archrival Nike Inc. that it still has a big piece of the Dallas Cowboys on its side.

Reebok has prepared an ad featuring Dallas running back Emmitt Smith making fun of Nike and Dallas owner Jerry Jones. It will run three times Sunday during Dallas’ playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Reebok spokesman Dave Fogelson said.

“This is my hat; this is my boot,” Smith says in the ad, referring to his Cowboys helmet and his Reebok training shoes.

“This is my ranch,” Smith adds, referring to Texas Stadium, “no matter whose brand is on the front gate.”

In September, Nike formed a controversial alliance with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, giving the Beaverton-based company all marketing rights connected with Texas Stadium.

Because of the agreement, Reebok could not film the Emmitt Smith ad in Texas Stadium. Instead, it went to a nearby high school with an artificial turf field and the company painted on the NFL and Dallas trademarks, Fogelson said.

Jones’ agreement with Nike, and his subsequent hiring away of Nike’s prized NFL star, Deion Sanders of San Francisco, overshadowed much of the early NFL season.

Jones and Nike formed their pact in direct defiance of the NFL, which at the time did not list Nike as an approved licensee. The league quickly sued Jones, who countersued. The suits still are pending.