Michael Phelps Returns to the Endorsement Pool
June 16th, 2009 at 9:46 amBy Chris
The “disgraced” Olympic swimmer is back in the news again, but this time, it’s not for bongs or girls he’s been spotted with. No, Michael Phelps is returning to the world of endorsements, something that was temporarily taken from him after his South Carolina/been-caught-smokin’ debacle. The product Phelps will be pitching is waterproof headphones from H20 Audio. Apparently, these little suckers can be submerged in up to 12 feet of water and still perform. Considering their existing partnerships — Laird Hamilton and Natalie Coughlin — a relationship with the most famous swimmer ever only makes sense.
From H20 Audio’s blog:
The H2O Audio team is proud to announce our partnership with world champion and gold medal swimmer, Michael Phelps. We’re extremely honored to have a high performance athlete like Michael using our products and look forward to working closely with him to develop new products in the future.
Corporate/press release speak aside, partnering with Michael Phelps does bring your product an immediate level of mainstream recognition, something neither Coughlin or Hamilton do. The introduction of Phelps takes H20 Audio out of the niche area and brings it to the masses — courtesy of starving-for-summer-content blogs like this one.
Of course, as a blog, I’m kind of disappointed Phelps didn’t just say “screw you all,” while signing a deal with Tommy Chong, who happens to be a fan of Phelps’ bong technique. Talk about a missed opportunity for a win-win.
