Subway to star Michael Phelps TV campaign
04 Jul 2009
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps will star in his first television advertisement for sandwich chain Subway. The campaign breaks July 5 in the US.
The advertisement created by MMB, an independent agency out of Boston , is called 'Be Yourself'.
Just last month, Phelps signed a sponsorship deal with H20 Audio -- a manufacturer of mp3 player headphones which can be worn underwater.
In January this year, Phelps' endorsement potential was threatened when photos of the eight-time Beijing gold medallist smoking out of a glass pipe were circulated in the media.
As a result, Kellogg's dropped the swimmer's endorsment for its cereals and removed his face from their boxes, calling his behaviour "not consistent" with its image.
Subway, on the other hand, decided to stand by its man, and in a statement said, "Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behaviour.
"Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans."
Other sponsors, including Speedo, Omega, Visa and Pure Sports, were quick to express support for the Olympic champion, but Subway waited a week to give its verdict on his behaviour.
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