When your industry is getting ugly press, hire a beautiful spokesperson. That may be the thinking at Land Rover, which has just signed the extremely downloadable Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova to a multiyear endorsement deal. Maria apparently always craved an SUV, and not just your average gas-guzzling Chevy Tahoe. “Having the right transportation is very important to me, as it takes me to practice, to the game and to all my personal appearances,” Sharapova says (or was told to say) in the press release. “When I won Wimbledon, I told myself, ‘Now I can have a Land Rover.’ Now that I am driving myself, I love the protection and style that this adds to my daily commute.” In other Sharapova news, check out these ads for the Italian Tennis Tournament over at Adland. They may be the first ads to use Sharapova but intentionally blur out her features.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Photo: Land Rover/David Fukumoto