The Billiken's Bluff

Goodyear Tires paid Detroit Pistons guard Richard “Rip” Hamilton to braid his hair in the style of the tread pattern of the company's Assurance TripleTred Tire. Of course Hamilton and his head are no strangers to The Bluff. I was in London while Rip was sporting this coiffure last week, luckily are resident Rip Hamilton expert, Rico IV, was on the ball.



Hamilton first wore the hairstyle January 30th against the Knicks in Detroit and kept it for about a week, Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey said Monday.
Neither Markey nor Josh Nochimson, Hamilton's business manager, would say how much Hamilton was paid. However, the player also received free tires, Markey said.

Nochimson said that he hopes the publicity stunt leads to an endorsement with the Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear. "I'd love to do something national," he said.
Hamilton even displayed the hairstyle to U.S. President George W. Bush, who hosted the Pistons at the White House on Monday in honor of their championship.

Goodyear said it picked the 26-year-old Hamilton for a variety of reasons, including his team's success and location in Detroit, which is the home to General Motors Corp. and other U.S. automaker. [Not to mention a head with as much surface area as Rip's is ideal because it provides an ample canvass for such an advertising campaign.]


Rip Hamilton’s Hair & The TripleTred Design that inspired it.