Procter & Gamble Announce U.S. Olympic Hopefuls Representing Its Various Brands

Proctor & Gamble today released a list of 28 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes who will be representing 13 of the company's brands in the months ahead. The list features athletes from an array of sports, including sprinter Allyson Felix, swimmer Ryan Lochte, gymnast Jordyn Wieber and taekwondo's the Lopez family. They will represent brands ranging from oral care to Metamucil. P&G VP North American Operations & Marketing Jodi Allen said, "We were looking for athletes with proven track records. Importantly, we wanted athletes who could tell the story and be consistent with the equity of the brands they were going to sponsor." P&G has signed 150 athletes worldwide. Allen said that P&G let its 80-plus brands decide whether or not they wanted to use the company's worldwide Olympic sponsorship in their marketing. Those brands then had the option to select athletes they felt fit their brand. Allen said, "In the coming weeks, you will see brand by brand beginning to tell their stories of athletes and their mom. Look at an athlete like Henry Cejudo. He has a wonderful story of his mom and how she enabled him to achieve what he was able to achieve." P&G also announced a fundraising effort that will be part of its Olympic marketing campaign. It hopes to raise $500,000 to support the newly created P&G Team USA Youth Sports Fund, which will contribute money to NGB-affiliated youth sports organizations as part of the company's effort to raise more than $5M for youth sports worldwide.

OLYMPIC ATHLETE	SPORT	BRANDS ENDORSING
Henry Cejudo	Wrestling	Tide, P&G
Natalie Coughlin	Swimming	Pantene
Ashton Eaton	Track & Field	P&G
Marlen Esparza	Boxing	Cover Girl
Janet Evans	Swimming	Metamucil
Allyson Felix	Track & Field	Oral Care
Tyson Gay	Track & Field	Gillette
Sarah Hammer	Cycling	Tide
Dwight Howard	Basketball	Duracell
Shawn Johnson	Gymnastics	Bounty, P&G
Lolo Jones	Track & Field	P&G
Hunter Kemper	Triathlon	Duracell
Jennifer Kessy	Beach Volleyball	Cover Girl
Ryan Lochte	Swimming	Gillette, P&G
Lopez Lomong	Track & Field	Tide, P&G
Diana Lopez	Taekwondo	Duracell, P&G
Mark Lopez	Taekwondo	Duracell
Steven Lopez	Taekwondo	Oral Care
Michael Phelps	Swimming	Head & Shoulders
Alicia Sacramone	Gymnastics	Beauty Scale, Secret, P&G
Summer Sanders (retired)	Swimming	Duracell
Brenda Villa	Water Polo	P&G
Kerri Walsh	Beach Volleyball	Pampers, P&G
Jordyn Wieber	Gymnastics	P&G

PARALYMPIC ATHLETE	SPORT	BRANDS ENDORSING
Kortney Clemons	Track & Field	P&G
Marlon Shirley	Track & Field	P&G
Jerome Singleton	Track & Field	Gillette
Mallory Weggemann	Swimming	P&G