Gold talks in world of endorsements
By Michael McCarthy
USA Today
SALT LAKE CITY — The Olympic Winter Games are over. Now the real competition begins — for endorsement bucks on Madison Avenue.
Sarah Hughes, figure skating gold medalist, could earn more than $10 million from endorsements, personal appearances and speeches through the next Winter Games in 2006, estimates Rob Prazmark, president of Olympic sales and marketing for sports agency IMG.
But other gold medalists with "Wheaties appeal" also stand to earn more than a million dollars in endorsements per year, says sports agent Peter Carlisle of Octagon.
The bad news for this year's team of athletes: Competition for money will be tighter than a figure skater's costume, says Peter Drakoulias, president of ad agency dRush in New York. The ad industry is struggling. And it's already slashed deals for fat-cat pro athletes. More athletes are fighting over fewer dollars. "There's still money out there. But you need a gold medal — and a great story," Drakoulias says.
The best story for most of the Games was Canadian figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
The couple are attracting offers, from endorsements to TV movies.
But Carlisle doubts they have staying power. "A lot of the attention around them has been about sympathy and scandal. That's not worth as much as admiration and respect."
How U.S. athletes are faring in the endorsement competition, according to sports marketing experts:
Winners:
- Hughes, 16. "She's young. She's a completely fresh face. She could sell anything to teenage girls," says Bob Dorfman of Pickett Advertising in San Francisco. Look for Hughes to land hair care and cosmetics deals, a la Dorothy Hamill. Hughes could also sign with Chevrolet, which already sponsors U.S. Women's figure skating.
- Vonetta Flowers, 28. The track-and-field coach's improbable journey from answering a want ad in 2000 to Olympic gold is inspiring advertisers, says Nova Lanktree of Lanktree Sports in Chicago, who arranges deals between athletes and marketers. "Vonetta is a major-league, spontaneous, wonderful human drama. That's very appealing." Endorsements might include products aimed at women and at African Americans, from personal care to vitamins.
- Apolo Anton Ohno, 19. Apolo-mania was the rage here with fans wearing fake goatees to mimic the soul patch on his chin. The teen heartthrob could pitch Gen-X products ranging from soft drinks to fast food. "He has a lot of street cred," Dorfman says.
- Snowboarders Kelly Clark, 18, Ross Powers, 23, Danny Kass, 19 and Chris Klug, 29. Clark and Powers, snowboard gold medalists, already have had more than 75 endorsement inquiries from advertisers from Coca-Cola to state fairs, says Carlisle, who expects to announce a major deal within a week.
Losers:
- Michelle Kwan, 21. Dorfman estimates losing the gold again may have cost the multimillion-dollar endorser $10 million in additional deals. "Americans don't like people who don't rise to the occasion."
- Jean Racine, 23. The women's bobsled team of Racine and Gea Johnson took the medal for pre-Olympic hype. And there was the ongoing soap opera over whether Johnson would be her partner. Racine starred in a national TV spot for Visa.
- But it gets rough when you don't meet expectations, Lanktree says. U.S. track star "Marion Jones was not an Olympian who failed (she won three golds). But she didn't live up to the hype (she predicted five). Jean didn't live up to the hype, either."
- Picabo Street, 30. The skier's gallant comeback from injuries fell short. But she still pulls down close to $1 million a year from companies such as Chap Stick. Her future may be as a TV commentator, Dorfman says. "She's perky and talky."
