Water Logged: Michael Phelps Profiled On CBS' "60 Minutes"
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Phelps, Profiled On CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday,
Remains A Hot Endorsement Commodity |
Olympic Gold Medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps was profiled on CBS’ “60 Minutes” last night. CBS’ Anderson Cooper said Phelps has been on a “victory lap of sorts” since returning from Beijing, including touring the country and “building the Michael Phelps brand.” Phelps was shown at an SI photo shoot where he wore all eight of his Gold Medals, which Cooper noted was the “kickoff to a marketing frenzy few other Olympic athletes have ever experienced.” Cooper: “Phelps had nine major sponsors even before Beijing. Now, he’s overwhelmed with proposals.” Octagon’s Peter Carlisle, Phelps’ agent, was shown telling Phelps a $5M endorsement offer had been rejected, then later telling Cooper, “These types of things were happening so frequently, the number of offers like that, that obviously just didn’t fit in. It was astounding.” Cooper: “Carlisle’s office receives about 300 calls a day regarding Phelps, but he’s only looking for companies that fit Phelps’ lifestyle. Ten restaurant chains offered Phelps deals, but he signed with Subway, in part because they plan to market Phelps overseas. A car endorsement in China will soon follow.” Phelps has appeared in an ad for Activision’s “Guitar Hero 4” videogame alongside Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez, Lakers G Kobe Bryant and skateboarder Tony Hawk, and he also has his own videogame “in the works.” Phelps also will be the subject of a new book and a documentary “with behind-the-scenes footage.” When asked what Phelps’ earning power could be over his lifetime, Carlisle said, “It’s tens of millions of dollars. If I had to bet, yeah (it’s over $100M).” Reacting to that comment, Phelps said, “It’s pretty good for a swimmer.” Carlisle added even Phelps’ bulldog, Herman, has received “several sponsorship proposals. … No joke” (“60 Minutes,” CBS, 11/30).
MIKE CHECK: In Baltimore, David Zurawik wrote the piece “was superficially interesting and certainly engaging,” but it was “never really revealing.” Producers “cleverly focused on Phelps’ life since he won eight gold medals at the Olympics” and they “touched a lot of bases.” Meanwhile, Cooper “certainly showed an anchor’s ego” during the segment. Phelps yawned at one point during the conversation, and Cooper “informed him he was ‘trying not to take’ the yawn personally.” Zurawik: “That is something I do not think the late Ed Bradley ever would have said.” Cooper “brings a sense of irony to almost everything he does, and as [a] result, nothing seems very serious” (BALTIMORESUN.com, 11/30).
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