Jamaica Celebrates as World's Fastest Man and Woman Retain Olympic Titles

Jamaica celebrates its 50th anniversary of freedom today and it couldn't be better timed. Coming on the heels of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's 100-meter gold medal on Saturday to retain her title as world's fastest woman, Jamaicans continued the celebration after Bolt won his fourth Olympic gold medal Sunday, this one for the 100-meter dash in London. Before Bolt defended his World’s Fastest Man status and showed off all his post-race antics and unbelievable smile, the Puma-sponsored sprinter had himself a chicken wrap from McDonald’s, according to USA Today. This admission bodes well for Bolt’s wallet as he will likely be a much-sought-after pitchman in the wake of the Games, even as he disagrees with LOCOG's controversial Rule 40 governing athletes' personal sponsors. Only 25 years old, he may have another gold in him four years from now in Brazil. He's certainly not shy; having just passed one million Twitter fans, his bio reads: "The most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen."Continue reading...

There are fewer than 75 days left before the start of the XXX Olympics in London and sports marketing will no doubt be in the faces of consumers for most of that time and certainly during the Games themselves. But it won’t just be the big-bucks brands sponsoring the events or their big-name ambushing competitors that will be benefiting from the Olympics. 

“You’ve got a month’s worth of free advertising for the sports and sports-related industries,” commented Vincent Mitchell, professor of consumer marketing at Cass Business School in London, to Bloomberg Businessweek. “You’re likely to see gym subscriptions go up, activity-type holidays go up, sports drinks, athletic shoes, it will be a mass effect.”

Even the smallest of sports brands may get a lift from all the sports talk going on as well. For example, a few elite athletes such as cyclist Rebecca Romero and tennis pro Andy Murray have asked the relatively tiny Science in Sport, which was bought by Provexis last summer, to send over its sports gels and other products as they prepare for the main event.Continue reading...