section_path: Endorsements
section_name: Endorsements
paragraph_text: Endorsements
  
  Chuck Barnes helped Simpson form business relationships with Chevrolet and ABC early in his football career. By 1971, the magazine New York wrote that Simpson was already wealthy enough to "retire this week if wanted to." Beginning in 1975, he appeared in advertisements with the Hertz rental car company. Commercials depicted Simpson running through airports (embodying speed), as others shouted to him the Hertz slogan "Go, O.J., Go!". He was the first Black man to be hired for a major corporate national advertising campaign, a unique decision for a conservative, dominant corporation to fend off its rival, No. 2 Avis. Besides helping his acting career, Simpson estimated that the very successful "superstar in rent-a-car" campaign raised the recognition rate among people he met from 30% to 90%. Hertz's annual profit increased by 50% to $42.2 million within the first year, brand awareness increased by more than 40%, and 97% of viewers understood that the commercials advertised Hertz, avoiding the common "vampire video" problem of viewers remembering an ad, but not which brand it promotes. Simpson was so important to the company that CEO Frank Olson personally negotiated his contract, and Hertz used him for an unusually long time for a celebrity endorser. Although Simpson appeared less often in Hertz commercials by the late 1980s, his relationship with the company continued; Simpson was to travel to Chicago to meet with Hertz executives and clients on the night of the Brown-Goldman murder.
  
  Simpson used his amiable persona, good looks, and charisma in many endorsement deals. Advertising Age in 1977 named Simpson the magazine's Star Presenter of the Year; by 1984, consumer research found that he was the most popular athlete endorser. A 1990s MCI Communications commercial starring Eunice Simpson satirized her son's work. Other products Simpson endorsed included Pioneer Chicken, Honey Baked Ham, TreeSweet orange juice, Calistoga Water Company 's line of Napa Naturals soft drinks, and Dingo cowboy boots. As president and CEO of O. J. Simpson Enterprises, he owned hotels and restaurants. When Simpson and Brown divorced in 1992, he had $10 million in assets and more than $1 million in annual income, including $550,000 from Hertz.
  
  Chuck Barnes helped Simpson form business relationships with Chevrolet and ABC early in his football career. By 1971, the magazine New York wrote that Simpson was already wealthy enough to "retire this week if wanted to." Beginning in 1975, he appeared in advertisements with the Hertz rental car company. Commercials depicted Simpson running through airports (embodying speed), as others shouted to him the Hertz slogan "Go, O.J., Go!". He was the first Black man to be hired for a major corporate national advertising campaign, a unique decision for a conservative, dominant corporation to fend off its rival, No. 2 Avis. Besides helping his acting career, Simpson estimated that the very successful "superstar in rent-a-car" campaign raised the recognition rate among people he met from 30% to 90%. Hertz's annual profit increased by 50% to $42.2 million within the first year, brand awareness increased by more than 40%, and 97% of viewers understood that the commercials advertised Hertz, avoiding the common "vampire video" problem of viewers remembering an ad, but not which brand it promotes. Simpson was so important to the company that CEO Frank Olson personally negotiated his contract, and Hertz used him for an unusually long time for a celebrity endorser. Although Simpson appeared less often in Hertz commercials by the late 1980s, his relationship with the company continued; Simpson was to travel to Chicago to meet with Hertz executives and clients on the night of the Brown-Goldman murder.
  
  Simpson used his amiable persona, good looks, and charisma in many endorsement deals. Advertising Age in 1977 named Simpson the magazine's Star Presenter of the Year; by 1984, consumer research found that he was the most popular athlete endorser. A 1990s MCI Communications commercial starring Eunice Simpson satirized her son's work. Other products Simpson endorsed included Pioneer Chicken, Honey Baked Ham, TreeSweet orange juice, Calistoga Water Company 's line of Napa Naturals soft drinks, and Dingo cowboy boots. As president and CEO of O. J. Simpson Enterprises, he owned hotels and restaurants. When Simpson and Brown divorced in 1992, he had $10 million in assets and more than $1 million in annual income, including $550,000 from Hertz.