Medill Money Mavens

BY TIAN HUANG - MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Taylor Momsen, best known for portraying Jenny Humphrey on the hit CW show, Gossip Girl, is the star of Nike Inc.’s (NKE: 51.06 -1.36 -2.59%) latest viral marketing effort. In the video, Momsen is rushed by paparazzi and to escape, she jumps over a stair rail, swings on a sign in a parking garage and climbs a building, all of course in a Nike top and sneakers.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based company has been experiencing financial success lately. The company boasted a profit last quarter of $391.0 million for the quarter ended Nov. 30, 2008, compared to $359.4 million in the year-earlier period. Most of Nike’s revenue gains have come from the Asia Pacific region, which grew 22 percent to $821.4 million compared to $675.6 million a year ago.