Alex Morgan’s marketing muscle still ticking upward

Because we can expect the men’s national team to dominate conversation over the next few days, and the ladies surely deserve some of our attention, too …

And because American advertising gambits are on our minds after last night’s Super Bowl …

Seemed like the right time for a reminder of Alex Morgan’s increasing marketing muscle:

I snapped this last week in Houston at a sporting goods store not far from BBVA Compass Stadium, where the U.S. men’s team was about to drive headlong into a Canadian wall.  Morgan was all over this place; you could barely swing a bag of practice balls without nailing one of her displays inside the store.

Not long ago I talked about Morgan’s fabulous marketing potential. She’s got everything, from commercial appeal to longevity (she’s just 23) to all those flashy numbers posted in 2012. Her 28 goals were third-best ever in a U.S. Soccer calendar year, behind only Abby Wambach (31 in 2004) and Michelle Akers (39 in 1991).

As best as I can round up her endorsements, Morgan has helped represent GNC, Just Dance, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Kenneth Cole and Bank of America. And, of course, Nike.

(MORE: Three most intriguing figures in U.S. Soccer for 2012)

The posters inside this store were part of the Nike’s advertising blitz out last fall for the company’s Hyperwarm line.

Here’s the cornerstone commercial of that campaign:

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