Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you have heard about Michael Phelps being caught smoking from a bong at a recent college party. After admitting to guilt and apologizing profusely, Michael Phelps is now starting to feel the heat. Not only has he been suspended by the American Swimming Association for 3 months, he has already lost his first major endorsement in Kellogg. Kellogg’s announced that Phelps’ behavior was inconsistent with the Kellogg’s image, and they would not be renewing the contract at the end of February.
It looks to be a big mistake as the press is already criticizing the company for this move that’s obviously not been well thought out. I am pretty sure that keeping Phelps on board would be a lot less harmful to Kellogg’s as a company than their current strategy of dumping the greatest US olympic hero of all time for something he did in his personal time, at a party.
It really begs the question if Kellogg’s may have an ulterior motive for this move? Just last month, CNN raided Michael Phelps’ kitchen during an interview and found not Corn Flakes, but Honey Oats (made by Post), one of Corn Flakes biggest competitors.
One thing is for sure going to be pounded into this 23 year old’s superstar athlete head: When you’re in the spotlight, people are going to be watching with a magnify glass and your every move can effect your bottom line. Although Kellogg’s is looking pretty dumb here (we never even mentioned corn flakes are a “stoner food”, cmon), swimmer’s don’t stay popular forever and Mr.Phelps you may want to collect as much money as you possibly can while you are still in your prime. With that being said, maybe it’s best to keep the bongs and your sponsor’s competitor’s products behind closed doors for a while.
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