Marketers Invest In Olympic Track Hopeful Gay With Sponsorships
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Gay Lands More Than $2M In
Endorsements Ahead Of Beijing Olympics |
Sprinter Tyson Gay, who last night qualified for the U.S. Olympic team, has "lined up more than $2[M] in endorsements from the likes of adidas, Omega, and Sega, which are betting big on the track star," according to Jenn Abelson of the BOSTON GLOBE. Sports marketing analysts said that the "effort to sell Gay reflects a powerful convergence of forces this summer: Businesses looking to raise their profile in China and around the world during the 2008 Olympics are so eager to find a promising athlete untarnished by drugs that they're willing to make an advertising icon out of a relatively unknown sprinter." Gay is currently featured on McDonald's bags and cups; his voice is available to Alltel Wireless customers as a ringtone for their phones; and a clip of him winning a race is featured in watchmaker Omega's commercials. Gay next month will appear on the cover of Sega's "Beijing 2008" videogame. McDonald's Dir of Alliance Marketing John Lewicki: "With the Olympics, it's always a crapshoot. But we try to get some of the best athletes, and I think we have one with Tyson." Alltel said that it was approached by Boston-based Global Athletics, which reps Gay, "at the beginning of the year and together they worked out a deal." Alltel Dir of Communications Lucie Pathmann said of Gay, "He has a hometown play with us. And he speaks to our brand very well -- he's very disciplined, has a very humble personality. He's not too loud and boisterous. We felt he would be a good spokesperson for us." Abelson reported Global Athletics is a "growing powerhouse in the marketing of track and field," and it is attempting to raise the sport's profile "by managing more meets, getting them televised nationally, and aggressively lobbying businesses to put sponsorship dollars behind the firm's athletes." Meanwhile, Gay's agent, Mark Wetmore, is part of a group of agents who "recently agreed not to represent any athlete who is convicted of a doping violation that carries a two-year or longer ban" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/28).
MORE SPONSORSHIPS: In Houston, David Barron reported U.S. Olympic Gold Medal-winning sprinter Jeremy Wariner is "using a new Adidas shoe that incorporates carbon nanotubes and an asymmetrical spike" called the Lone Star in a nod to his home state of Texas. Meanwhile, U.S. Olympic Gold Medal-winning fencer Steven Lopez has filmed an ad as part of Visa's "Go World" campaign. He already is part of ad programs for Coca-Cola, Hilton Hotels and AT&T (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/29).
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