With the unveiling of the Apple (News - Alert) iWatch, all eyes now turn to just how popular this device is going to be when it’s finally out on the market. Apple has always been pretty good when it comes to marketing its gadgets. The big difference between the marketing approach of the past and the Tim Cook era is how obvious the company is going to be with its advertising. Steve Jobs (News - Alert) was well known for courting celebrities, but doing so quietly. It appears the under-the-radar approach is about to go out the window.

A story broken by 9to5Mac claims Apple is getting ready to team up with a number of sports celebrities in order to test and possibly market the newest device. 9to5Mac has a certain amount of credibility in this area, considering the website has broken a number of stories, and outpaced most of the competition to do it. The site specifically picks out Kobe Bryant as one member of the sports world that is going to be very publicly wearing an iWatch.

Bryant is just one of the sports luminaries mentioned in the report. L.A. Kings right wing Dustin Brown and a former Boston Red Sox player who hasn’t been named are also going to be getting their very own iWatches to wear about town. Kobe Bryant is not new to the wearable tech market, having been a big pitchman for Nike’s Fuelband. With that device no longer being serviced by Nike, Kobe is a free agent in the wearable tech world. The Los Angeles Lakers star was spotted on the Cupertino campus meeting with Apple design chief Jony Ive last month.

To be sure, if Apple is going hard after the celebrity marketing voice, it is a departure from Steve Jobs. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad one won’t be known for a little while yet.