The ad champ

He's sold cooking grills by the cartload and mufflers by the millions. Now peerless pitchman George Foreman, by some measures among the most successful salesmen in America, is turning on his charm for Casual Male Big & Tall of Canton, the country's leading retailer for men it gently refers to as "big guys." If ever a chain needed Foreman, it's Casual Male, the retail equivalent of the Red Sox. Every year, it seems to be on the cusp of a breakout -- only to come up short. Its various corporate parents filed for bankruptcy protection twice in just over a decade, the last time in 2001. But with Foreman on board, and a new ownership making changes, hopes run high for a chain with 482 stores and annual sales of $320 million.

"All the traditional rules of marketing can be thrown out the window when it comes to George," said executive vice president Andy Cohan of EnterSport, a licensing agency that represents Foreman in his Casual Male alliance.

Marketing specialists offer several theories to explain why the former heavyweight boxing champion is so effective as a pitchman. In a country that celebrates makeovers, few have transformed their public personas so successfully. Most celebrities are prisoners of the first impressions they make on the public, said Bob Williams, president of Burns Sports & Celebrities Inc. Not Foreman. A man once feared as a surly brute has reinvented himself as a lovable teddy bear.

Foreman also scores high on the pitchman's toughest job -- staying out of trouble.

"You don't want your pitchman doing the perp walk," said Tobe Berkovitz, associate dean of the College of Communication at Boston University.

TV and radio ads with Foreman promoting the launch of his own clothing lines at Casual Male will begin airing in some warm-weather Texas markets this week. Next month, the ad campaign will go national.

Foreman also graces the cover of the chain's spring catalogs. Customers can choose items from the George Foreman Signature Collection, which includes tuxedos, dress pants, and sports coats or the George Foreman Comfort Zone, which incorporates "relaxer" features such as shirts and trousers with expanding collars and waistlines.

Foreman, of course, has worked wonders with the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. If he can do the same for big-and-tall clothing, Casual Male may finally be able to deliver on its potential.

As for Foreman, helping to propel a chain with a checkered past to outsized success could well qualify him for his own wing at the pitchman's Hall of Fame.

It's tough to claim pitchman primacy without a sneaker endorsement. By one estimate, Nike Inc. has golfer Tiger Woods under a $100 million contract and another $90 million deal with basketball star LeBron James.

But if the true test of a pitchman is not how much he earns in endorsement fees, but how much product he sells, then Foreman is a superstar.

Exhibit A is Salton Inc., which a decade ago was just another gadget company. Then it hired Foreman to promote its grilling machine, and a phenomenon was born.

According to published reports, grill sales went from $5 million in 1996 to $400 million in 2002, and under a multiyear deal, Salton agreed to pay Foreman $137.5 million. Attempts to reach Salton were unsuccessful.

What's so remarkable is that this product has no connection to Foreman's sports celebrity. It's one thing for a basketball star to sell basketball shoes at the height of his basketball career. It's quite another for a retired boxer to sell a kitchen appliance.

It was Casual Male's potential that persuaded agent Cohan to propose an alliance unveiled last summer that will pay Foreman royalties based on sales of his clothing lines. With obesity rampant in the United States, the thinking was that the time was right for a haberdasher selling pants with 50-inch waistlines, especially since this market is largely ignored by department stores. By year's end, as much as 30 percent of Casual Male merchandise could bear the Foreman label.

Cohan sees the agreement as a "win-win" for both his client and the chain. In the past, the chain was part of a larger company struggling with unrelated problems. In 2002, the chain was bought by a company that now calls itself Casual Male Retail Group. With new management and a new pitchman, the hope is that better days are at hand.

At first glance, it seems a no-brainer for a man who loves to eat and sometimes battles his weight to sign on with a chain that refers to its customers as "big guys." In raising its annual marketing budget from $20 million to $26.5 million, including $10 million behind the Foreman campaign, Casual Male aims to broaden its target audience beyond middle-age men. Past ads focused primarily on existing customers. Foreman ads target new customers. According to Casual Male chief executive David Levin, 70 percent of men's clothing is bought by women, compared with only 35 percent at Casual Male. Levin wants to get more men in their 20s and 30s and more women into his stores.

If one goal is to reach out to women and young men, then an ex-boxer in his mid-50s hardly seems like an ideal pitchman, especially since many women find boxing distasteful. But according to marketing agents, Foreman is unique, a universally loved gentle giant, a man for all demographics. Regardless of age, gender, or background, many Americans find him funny.

Woods and former NBA superstar Michael Jordan may earn more in endorsement fees because they promote a wider range of products and more big-name brands. Foreman has been selective. Besides the grill, he promotes Meineke Car Care Centers and ConAgra meats.

"He's turned down over 200 deals," Casual Male CEO Levin said. "We're only his fourth. We did a survey of 2,000 customers, and he had an 80 percent approval rating. No one else came close."

Asked to explain the Foreman mystique, president Marc Ganis of Sportscorp Ltd., replied, "There's a lot to be said for someone who just makes you smile."

Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.