The makers of a new sports drink are embarking on their first national advertising campaign with him. Phelps - the biggest Olympic athlete in years - if not ever - is everywhere this summer. And companies want to share in his fame by taking out ads, pitching endorsements and giveaways.
The 23-year-old from Baltimore has proved himself in the pool, but will he sink or swim as a long-term pitchman on Madison Avenue?
''He is in the top tier of athletics and now he's going to get his tryout as a personality,'' said John Sweeney, director of sports communication at the University of North Carolina. ''Tiger Woods sure passed, but Mark Spitz didn't. And there are plenty of people who they try to develop the whole persona around, and two years later it's gone.''
Phelps has won 14 gold medals, the most of any Olympian ever. Eight of those were at the Beijing Olympics, which end Sunday. He already has top endorsements from companies such as Speedo and AT&T, and he's certainly got a big fan base with a lot of potential buying power.
His agent at Octagon said he expects Phelps' earnings of $3 million to $5 million a year to at least double. Visa, which has had a long-standing relationship with Phelps, was quick to put out new ads celebrating his big feats. Kevin Burke, of Visa, said it is not clear where the pairing will go.
No matter because new companies are coming after Phelps at the rate of 50 pitches a day. But it's still not clear how persuasive a pitchman he'll be. The uniqueness of his feat will carry him only so far, North Carolina's Sweeney said, and the American people will need more if he's going to prove a staying force in advertising. That would include having a personality that draws people in and qualities that make people care.
Spitz earned a living off his wins, but didn't quite make it on Madison Avenue, Sweeney said. Mary Lou Retton? She has it. The gymnast turned a one-time gold medal in the 1984 Olympics into a career of speaking engagements and TV appearances that's going to this day.
Most popular ads
Coca-Cola Co.'s commercial showing computer-animated birds building a nest to watch the opening of the Beijing Olympics has been rated the most-liked advertisement, according to a Nielsen Co. survey. Spots for General Electric Co. and Visa Inc. also ranked among the favorites.
Michael Phelps' sponsors
* Speedo USA - maker of swimsuits
* Visa Inc. - the credit card company
* Omega - luxury watchmaker that is a unit of Swatch Group AG
* Hilton Hotels Corp. - hotel chain
* PowerBar - nutrition bar made by Swiss chocolate maker Nestle SA.
* AT&T Inc. - communications provider
* Kellogg Co. - maker of Frosted Flakes, Cheez-Its and Eggo waffles
* Rosetta Stone Ltd. - language-learning software maker
* PureSport - sports-performance beverage
* SwimRoom.com - Internet site for swimmers
Source: Sports and entertainment marketing company Octagon.
