NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Michael Phelps may hold racked up more medals than any other Olympian in history, but turning his atomic number 79 into Madison Avenue or Hollywood john Cash will be far trickier.
The advertising cosmos has recollective had an ambivalent relationship with Olympic athletes; though coverage is saturated during the Games, interest in the quadrennial competition fades once its torch is extinguished.
And Hollywood, once a natural succeeding stop for successful Olympic athletes, has become a remote detour.
So despite endless exposure, athletic dominance and a boy-next-door likeability, unrivalled of the best athletes the U.S. has ever so produced might be a ho-hum history when he climbs out of the pool.
"If anyone can go past the limited shelf life of Olympians, it's Phelps," said Bob Dorfman, a vice chairman at San Francisco-based consultancy Baker Street Partners, which compiles an annual name of sports-star endorsements. "But there ar still a lot of problems."
After the 2004 Athens Olympics, Disney signed Phelps -- then coming off a performance that earned six gold medals -- to a multicity liquid tour. He also became a fame spokesman for Hong Kong electronics maker Matsunichi, inking a four-year deal worth about $4 million.
The dreams are larger this year for Phelps and Peter Carlisle, his representative at sports means Octagon, which handles many Olympic athletes. (Phelps has no Hollywood agent, though it's possible that a sports-minded agency will before long be making overtures.) Phelps' habit of breaking world records and the attention on the Games make him an attractive nominee; Visa already has created new muscae volitantes around his Olympic performance, and he has deals in place with PowerBar and Speedo.
TOUGH SELL�
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