When Gold Medal skier Lindsey Vonn's uplifting Facebook post from rehab carried the Instagram/Twitter hashtag #givesyouwings, it was just the latest example of how injury has become another opportunity for athlete spokespeople to service their brands.

Vonn posted the positive message alongside a picture of herself working out her abs as she is recovering from knee surgery after a brutal injury. The picture included her Red Bull water bottle. (She later tweeted a graphic picture of her post-op knee).

Yes, Red Bull is a Lindsey Vonn sponsor, but the fact that the four-time World Cup champion might not strap on skis for another six to eight months isn't stopping her endorsement duties. In fact, as many brands are learning, there may be as much to gain from a sponsor's thrill of victory as there is from his or her agony of defeat.Continue reading...

Just when Kohl's has been called out for having little relevance to pop culture compared with other major American retail brands, the queen of mid-range apparel chains strikes back.

Kohl's latest campaign features its best-known designer name, Jennifer Lopez, in a mock music video, "I've Got the Music In Me," that aims to make the department store chain more relevant to younger audiences. And that's not the brand's only high-profile musical duetContinue reading...

Fourteen years ago, former college football player Kevin Plan founded the Under Armour sports apparel brand. Since that time, its primary appeal has been to men under 30. Now the company is trying to break out of its mold by making a pitch to women athletes, especially what the company calls the "team girl."Continue reading...

Once upon a time there was just Red Bull. Today, however, the brand finds itself fighting to stay alive in one of the most viscously competitive consumer markets around. Ironically, it's a market the brand practically created.

To stay ahead, the brand employs all manner of brand-building measures, some conventional, some not. The brand runs standard 30-second TV commercials about the drink "giving you wings." It also underwrites F1 racecars and sponsors star athletes like Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and Shaun "Flying Tomato" White. The brand's less conventional sports sponsorships include airplane races and "soapbox derbies." But one Red Bull promotion is wildly unique. Continue reading...

Pity NBC – as if the network needed more programming woes after the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien disaster. Now, with the Olympics beginning tonight, top-ranked skier and "very photogenic" Olympic superstar Lindsey Vonn is injured. She might not even compete. In addition to her personal pain and disappointment, it's bad news for all of the brands involved.

Before severely injuring her leg, skier Vonn was the favorite for medals in the women's downhill and super-G and several other races. She also boasts a blonde, all-American-girl look that the media salivates over. With no big-time female American ice-skating princess to focus on, Vonn was to be NBC's "queen of the ski hill." She was to be the Michael Phelps of these winter Olympics. Consequently, Vonn has been the feature of a disproportionate amount of promotion. She was even included in the annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue just a week after being on its cover.Continue reading...