Getting into Olympics gives an athlete a well-paid career. Aside from having a chance of winning a gold medal, these athletes are usually offered sponsorship and aired ad campaigns. Since being a professional athlete is measured on performance, the better they perform, the more income they can get.
Usually, these advertising campaigns start a year or two before their competition. After gaining popularity from the Olympics, some athletes create their brands or collaborate with athletic brands.
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One of the Olympic athletes that appeared in several advertisements is Mark Spitz. After winning medals in Olympics, he appeared in several advertisements such as pain relief supplements, swimwear, and health mobile app. When he won at the 1972 Olympics and has been appearing in aired advertisements until now.
Who is Mark Spitz?
Born on February 10, 1950, Mark Spitz started his international swimming career at the age of 15. He won several gold medals in the 1965 Maccabiah Games, the 1969 Mexico Olympics, the 1967 Pan American Games, 1968 Summer Olympics. His most notable Olympic swimming record was from the 1972 Summer Olympics.
When he retired from swimming at 22, he joined show business under William Morris Agency. He also joined a sports channel where he worked on sports coverage and presentations. He then became a TV announcer, broadcaster, and swimming commentator.
Aside from his outstanding swimming career and TV appearances, he also appeared in paid advertisements for various brands and products.
Brand Ambassador for Arena
Since Mark Spitz became famous for his achievements during the 1972 Olympics, he helped Horst Dassler when he launched Arena brand in 1973.
When Spitz proved his performance in swimming, he became the first sponsored athlete by Arena. He was then joined by other swimming athletes in the following years. This was the start of Arena sponsoring USA swimming until today. The brand has been providing athletes with resources that are dedicated to their training and games.
California Milk Advisory Board
California Milk Advisory Board is an agency that handles California’s milk marketing since dairy is one of the agricultural products in the industry. Mark Spitz appeared in one of the agency’s commercials where an announcer said, “Milk has something for everybody.” Spitz’s commercial commended the nutritional value of drinking milk.
Another advertisement that he made for the California Milk Advisory Board was a print advertisement. A life-sized poster featured the swimmer in his trunks with seven gold medals. The advertisement was considered the pin-up of the year and one of the best-marketed posters.
Schick Razors
Even with his iconic mustache, Mark Spitz did several advertisements for the Schick company. However, an agreement had terminated the contract. An ad agency said that the swimmer’s ad was the worst promotion among all sports icons.
The company has signed the swimmer to a lifetime contract. Schick also made an electric shaver with a limited edition dedicated to Mark Spitz. The overspending of marketing efforts for the shaver made the lifetime contract terminated. Released in 1973, the Flexamatic electric razor is now considered a collector’s item which features Spitz’s logo.
KardiaMobile
In one of his video commercials, Mark Spitz reminisced about his strong swimming career and his best shape and health during those years. His advertisement with KardiaMobile became appropriate for the product since he has been aging and experiencing challenges as he aged. KardiaMobile is a personal EKG and heart monitoring device that provides instant analysis by placing fingers on the sensors.
Supplements
In 2012, Mark Spitz partnered with a testosterone supplement called Ageless Male. He started advertising for the product when he focused on lifestyle change. He said that he promoted a healthier lifestyle through eating and metabolism change.
Relief Factor also tied up with Mark Spitz during 2021. This time, the swimmer is endorsing a pain-relieving substance that helps people with joint discomforts. At first, he never thought of endorsing a pain relief supplement.
Other Brand Advertisements
He also appeared on a TV commercial for Playstation where he appeared with Evel Knievel. Aside from Arena, Mark Spitz also did swimsuit commercials for Speedo. Other cameo appearances for commercials were GoDaddy which featured Amanda Beard and “Orbitrek Elite” which was a fitness workout.
Mark Spitz has been appearing in various advertisements for different brands and products. There were successful marketing campaigns and there are also failed ones. However, as he aged, it is seen that the products that he was advertising became appropriate for his age.