Procter & Gamble has signed Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps “to a seven-figure endorsement deal for its billion-dollar Head & Shoulders shampoo brand,” according to Lefton & Mickle of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Sources said that Phelps is signed through next year’s London Olympics and “will be featured in a commercial, which was shot in Baltimore last month.” The signing is the “first major endorsement that a P&G brand has closed since the company signed a 10-year, multimillion-dollar deal in 2010 to become" an IOC TOP sponsor. Lefton & Mickle note Phelps’ “global recognition should help P&G as it tries to leverage the Olympics to achieve its goal of increasing its customer base from 4 billion to 5 billion consumers in the next five years.” He joins a roster of athlete endorsers for Head & Shoulders that includes Steelers S Troy Polamalu and Twins C Joe Mauer. Phelps adds Head & Shoulders to a portfolio of sponsors that includes Speedo, Under Armor, Hilton, 505 Games, Hewlett-Packard, Subway, Omega, Pure Sport, Visa and Master Spas. In the run-up to the London Games, Octagon is “focused on signing Phelps to deals with global companies that are committed to using him in international markets” (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/5 issue).
