After looking through everyone’s blogs I noticed nobody took the chance to look at the PR crisis that Michael Phelps has created, however A-Rod did get touched upon. So I decided to read an article in the NY Marketing and PR examiner stating that Kellogg’s has dropped all ties with Phelps.
Unless you have been living under a bridge smoking doobies you probably already know by now that Michael Phelps was photographed smoking marijuana out of a bong at a University of South Carolina frat party. This picture was published in Britian’s News of the World newspaper. When the picture hit the web, Phelps was hit by a barrage of PR “pot shots”. Soon after the photo was revealed to the public, Kellogg’s cleared Phelps from their cereal boxes. However, Speedo is still a very proud and stout supporter of Phelps’.
The question is this a good public relations move for Kellogg’s? It certainly is. I think it was an easy decision for Kellogg’s to drop its association with Phelps because Kellogg’s target market has predominantly been children ages 5-18, whose cereal is purchased by their concerned parents. The last thing those consumers want is a figure who validates the use of marijuana on their children’s breakfast table each morning, no matter how many gold medals he won. Phelps has suffered some damage to his image, but only time will tell whether or not he can put this incident behind him (as he did with a drunk driving conviction six years ago). Other sponsors such as Rosetta Stone, IBM and Speedo are willing to look beyond the indiscretion, and focus on the future. These corporations reflect the idea that the people of America have a very short attention span. When 2012 rolls around and Michael Phelps wins another heap of gold medals, everyone will forget all about these matters. The only time it will be mentioned in the future may be at the beginning of the 2012 Olympics right before Phelps wins his first gold medal.
I also think Michael Phelps handled this very well unlike Alex Rodriguez. Phelps addressed the public said it was a mistake and that he will never do it again and that was his statement. A-Roid on the other hand is in the process of dragging his Personal PR staff work for a long time.
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This is a very interesting topic you decided to blog on; although I do not completely share your views I see where you are coming from. I have mixed feeling about the situation; I think it’s sad that when one is down and in a bad situation people tend to distance themselves and disassociate themselves from that individual.
ReplyDeleteI find it funny that when one is successful and is in a good spotlight those same people who previously distanced themselves are usually the first to jump onboard and try to then associate themselves with that individual to see what they can benefit by being associated with that individual.
In my opinion I think Kellogg’s is a prime example by trying to benefit when things are good for Michael Phelps and then distancing themselves when his public image is negative and his in a bad situation.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your views on the Phelps situation. The fact that Kellogs dropped him from their advertisments was a good idea. Like you mentioned Kellog's target market is much younger than say IBM's. Kids tend to follow more of what their celebrity idols are doing and if they see Phelps smoking weed, who knows where that could go. However, for IBM to drop might not be such a good idea. They do not have a target market of a much younger age. They are not that easily influenced by what celebs are doing. Sure they might lose a few customers who will not support your company because of who they have representing them. I think this would be a small loss to take though.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on this blog, Kellogg's should have dropped Michael Phelps, along with all of his other sponsors. This is not the first time he has been in trouble. If he is going to be seen as a role model, what is this telling young children? I do realize though that he is only human and like the rest of us he is prone to our human nature of making mistakes. I think that sometimes the news is just waiting for a story and cannot wait to find a story like this so they can drag it out until the 2012 Olympics. I do not think that this will be forgotten even after the Olympics. Maybe for a little while if he wins a bunch of gold medals, but it will be in the back of everyone's mind is my guess.
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ReplyDeleteBen-
ReplyDeleteYou make very interesting points. I also think it was a good move on Kellogg's part to stop sponsoring him. Parents and children are the main consumers of Kellogg's cereals (I would guess) and I would assume that they would not want to let their children eat cereal that sponsored an influential "druggie." Speedo and Rosetta Stone probably have an older audience, so that could be why they decided to keep sponsoring him. It is also true, though, that Americans DO have small attention spans. Soon enough, we'll all forget about Phelps' incident because someone else will smoke pot and be photographed.
You make a good point that Kellogg’s target audience are kids ages 5-18 and that letting Phelps go was a good move on their part. There are other companies that still support him, which is good I think because we all make mistakes and we should all just look past this incident. Phelps did handle this situation very well I thought too. I believe most people will forget about this incident of Phelps until the next Olympics comes around and then it will be mentioned again like you said. If Phelps keeps clean and pushes towards his goals and wins as many gold medals at the next Olympics then I think people will forgive and forget pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that Michael Phelps had a prior driving under the influence arrest. Maybe he has a substance abuse problems since these issues keep coming up. I agree that Kelloggs did a good thing by getting rid of him as a spokesperson because he obviously is not a good role model and his excuse of how he is a young guy and this was a mistake and would not happen again should not be believed because he obviously did not learn from his prior mistake.
ReplyDeleteMichael Phelps is one heck of a swimmer. Unfortunately, he is just another pothead idiot now that those photos were leaked. I suppose his PR was pretty good "look sad and say it was a mistake." Of course it was a mistake. However, I don't think Michael Phelps will stop smoking weed and getting hammered. He will just apologize for it whenever it happens. That's the thing with sports figures these days. Someone is usually drinking and driving, beating up strippers, dogfighting, shooting roids into their but, and a large percent of them are lighting up their own bong as we speak. I think the few ACTUAL role models should be on the Kellog's boxes. Not talented retards.
ReplyDeleteBen Good article I will have to agree with you. I think that you have to deal with the consequences of your actions. Phelps had allot going for him and allot of Americans looked up to him as a role model and now there are allot of mixed feelings for him. Kellogg’s did the right thing on pulling him off of their cereal boxes. In the public eye people may have different views of Michael Phelps now and this may affect their purchase habits. Kellogg’s could lose money if they didn’t pull him.
ReplyDeleteWhat will this do to Speedo(R)? Will this kill their sales or increase them? What about Kellogs(R)? Are their sales going to drop a lot or increase? I agree with you completely that only time will tell. The U.S. does have a very short attention span, so I can definitely see this completely being forgotten within years. The only time it will be mentioned will be when sports analysts talk about bad PR moves or things that Michael Phelps has overcome in his career.
ReplyDeleteThis is truely a touchy subject. When you put one of America's most popular people on the table and get a picture of him smoking weed, that creates a huge crisis. Kellog's did the right thing by taking him off of their cereal boxes because that just looks bad when children are involved. Would I believe Michael Phelps when he says I will never smoke weed again!?! I don't know, but for some reason, I wouldn't hold him to it. I believe we will see a lot more of Mr. Phelps in the news. I'm also pretty sure that the paparazzi's will be after him to get some credible photos of Mr. Phelps at his worse...
ReplyDeleteI was also unaware of his prior conviction. This is a prime example of how “famous” people always have to watch their backs, especially people that are getting paid by companies to promote their products. While supporting these products for the companies, they are also promoting the company’s image. I’m sure this is right in the contract that he had to sign when he got the company’s contract. As for Kelloggs dropping him from their cereal boxes, this was the only option they had. I’m sure they had thought of the repercussions they would have faced if they had decided to keep him.
ReplyDeleteAfter Michael Phelps got into trouble for drinking and driving, he said he made a mistake and he told the public that it would never happen again. Now he gets caught smoking weed and he says he made another mistake and that it won’t happen again. I wonder if Phelps has finally learned his lesson now after making two mistakes now in his life. He is young and he likes to have fun but he needs to watch what he does cause there are many people that look up to Phelps after all he’s done by winning eight gold medals in the Olympics. Kellogg’s did the right thing though by removing him from the cereal boxes.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Kellogg's move to drop sponsorship for Michael Phelps was probably the right move. But most people, I think, over look the fact that he did win 8 GOLD MEDALS! Because smoking pot with make you a bum and you will not be good at anything in your life if you smoke weed ever!.... yeah right.... I mean who cares if Michael Phelps smokes weed, hell San Frisco is on the verge of making weed less of a criminal charge is you are caught with it. So he mite be setting a "bad example" for today's youth, but if you ask me its only a matter of time before smoking weed is publicly excepted. I know, I know.... People are going to say Steve what the hell are you talking about? Well I say spend some time on the web looking at the future laws dealing with weed in some of the larger states like CA. I personal am not a pot smoker, but I have a few friends that are and when ever I hang with them we always get into arguments about legalizing weed.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what makes Micheal Phelps a role model. Just because he is a really good swimmer, he is someone that kids should look up to? No. He is a 23 year-old who just have millions and millions of dollars given to him and he is making the same mistakes that most 23 year-olds would make in that situation. Parents should be telling their kids to work hard and try to accomplish the things that he did, not be exactly like him. Children shouldn't look up to professional athletes as role models just because they can run faster, jump higher, or throw harder than normal people. They should look up to people that work hard and give back to society, like doctors and engineers, or preferably their parents. But that isn't the way that our society works, I guess. How many ER surgeons have you seen on the cover of a Wheaties box?
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