Michelle Kwan and the Risks of Marketing Olympians

Darren Rovell of ESPN has an engaging feature on how Coca-Cola and Visa have largely centered their Olympic advertising campaigns around figure skater Michelle Kwan, who withdrew from the Olympics a few days ago. (Rovell, "There Will be Some Awkward Moments for Coke, Visa," ESPN.com, 2/13/2006). Coca-Cola is especially affected by her decision, as aside from featuring her in several television advertisements (which will still be run in prominent time slots), Kwan's image is all over Coca-Cola's in-store promotions. Rovell describes the risk of marketing Olympic athletes:

The problem with marketing Olympians is that they come out of nowhere, and by the time they win a gold medal, they are forgotten, absorbed by the NBA playoffs or a horse making a run at the Triple Crown. With that in mind, it's easy to see why Kwan was the best marketing bet of the Olympics. People know her, she has that golden smile, and over the course of her career she has upheld a squeaky clean reputation.

Although I agree that it's a tad embarrassing to center an ad campaign around an Olympian who unexpectedly drops out before the games begin, I suspect Michelle Kwan may have received more attention--and far more favorable press--by dropping out than had she competed and not placed among the medal winners. And the same might true even if she had won the bronze or the silver. When she announced her decision to withdraw from the Olympics, it seemed as if she was on the cover of every sports page, the lead story on every television sports news show, and the most visible headline on every major sports website, and at least of the coverage that I actually read, she was portrayed in almost superhuman/ultra-courageous terms, similar to how we regard national heroes from centuries ago. In fact, the coverage was so overwhelming that I suspect some readers, and especially those interested in the Olympics, may have been wondering: What about all the other Olympians? Why are we focused on the one Olympian who isn't competing?

So maybe this will work out for Coca-Cola and Visa after-all. Certainly, Michele Kwan may be the most famous and admired U.S. Olympian who has never won a gold medal, and that would seem like a pretty good person to center an ad campaign around. Really, does anyone not like her? Talk about winning by losing!

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