Cavendish Head & Shoulders above rivals as he joins Hoy and Pendleton in getting P&G sponsorship
Consumer goods giant names 11 Team GB London 2012 medal hopefuls as brand ambassadors
P and G Olympic Brand Ambassadors
Three of Britain’s star cyclists hoping to get among the medals at London 2012 – Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Mark Cavendish – have been signed up as brand ambassadors by Olympic sponsor and consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G).
Along with eight other athletes from different sports, the trio have each been chosen as ambassador for a specific P&G brand that they will represent throughout 2012.
So, you ask, who got what?
Well, Hoy joins global superstars such as Roger Federer and Thierry Henry in plugging razor brand Gillette – a natural fit for a cyclist, given it’s not just the face that gets shaved.
Pendleton, meanwhile, will represent Pantene, which as any stand-up comedian worth their salt knows is the price a Cockney pays for their shampoo.
Cavendish also gets a shampoo brand, but in his case it’s Head & Shoulders. We’re assuming that reflects his domination of his sprint rivals, rather than referring to any dandruff-related problems.
However, given the predominantly white colour of the HTC-Highroad kit he’s worn these past few seasons as well as the rainbow jersey he’ll be sporting next year with Team Sky, it’s difficult to tell.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Hoy said: “Gillette has a fantastic heritage in sport and I’m delighted to be a part of that. Next year will be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m looking forward to sharing the journey with Gillette.”
Pendleton added: “I've used Pantene since I was a little girl so I am thrilled to be the Pantene ambassador in 2012.”
P&G has also launched a ‘Thank You Mum’ campaign aimed at supporting the ‘Mums of Team GB’ in the build-up to London 2012 and during the Games.
As part of that, it will be making sure that the mother of every British athlete competing at the Olympics or Paralympics gets a ticket to see their son or daughter compete.
Irwin Lee, P&G UK Vice-President and Managing Director, said: “We’re very excited to welcome to the P&G family an impressive line-up of athletes who will help us celebrate the London 2012 Games and the role that Mums and families play in raising great kids and great champions.
"We are delighted to be part of the Olympic movement and to support Team GB and their families here in the UK.”
He added: “Each of these athletes is leading the way in their individual fields and embody the values of leadership, integrity and passion for winning that we set for ourselves and our brands at P&G.”
The other athletes involved in the sponsorship, plus the brands they will represent, are Jessica Ennis (athletics – Olay), Jeanette Kwakye (athletics – Ariel), Keri-Anne Payne (open water swimming – Max Factor and Oral-B), Jenna Randall (synchronised swimming – Braun Female), Ben Rushgrove and Sophia Warner (both Paralympic athletics – P&G), and Liam Tancock (swimming – Gillette).
Spare a thought for poor Paula Radcliffe though, famously caught short on her way to winning the 2005 London Marathon in an incident captured by the TV cameras. She’s been chosen to represent not only the washing-up liquid brand, Fairy, but also, in news that’s likely to have the sniggerometer ticking up towards 11, the nappy brand Pampers.
For some reason my eyes were drawn straight to the leggy one doing the splits... 
If the bicycle was invented tomorrow, it would be seen as the solution, not the problem
This whole corporate takeover makes me sick. Who gives a **** what Proctor and Gamble are doing?
I thought the Olympics was supposed to be a celebration of sporting talent? At very least you might think they would turn it into a showpiece to get first-world people off their backsides.
Instead what we see is that Joe Public is mostly unable to buy tickets to see the games, while at the same time The Sun and EDF are in a position to give tickets away as competition prizes. Even those people lucky enough to get tickets (and of course don't forget that those who were unlucky had to fork out as well) are obliged to pay by Visa due to the sponsorship arrangements.
I wonder, actually, if that rule also applied to our government, who spent more than £250,000 of taxpayers' money on tickets?
And remember also that two of the biggest sponsors of the games, McDonald's and Coca Cola - I have heard that the McDonald's in the olympic complex will be the largest in the world - someone please tell me what either of these brands have to do with promoting better health.
It is clear to me that the whole Olympic exercise is about a very small number of people making an awful lot of money, and nothing more.
Grrrrrrr
Pete
I agree PeteH, as in ALL sports, money first.
I was very disappointed when London got the Olympics, all I could see was all of those BILLIONS of pounds being wasted, and look at the financial worldwide crisis, how is this going to help Britain recover ?
The Olympics is always marketed as being beneficial to the country, how can it be, that a single competitor/team winning something they enjoy doing benefit the remaining millions of people ?
Also the latest trendy word 'legacy' is bounded about (remember when 'sexy' was the in-word?).
I would much rather have this money spent on providing good care to everyone (NHS, new hospitals, 'miracle' cancer drugs & research etc) than a couple of stadiums and some medals to pat the talented few on the back.
Obviously a big benefit to those running it and the Ministers in Government, probably a big pension bonus for them.
With all that money you'd think they could do a better Photshop job than that
Yes Darren you're absolutely right.
A friend of mine also told me that people will not be allowed to take liquid refreshment into the stadia, and neither will there be any water fountains etc. What there will be are Coca Cola kiosks where you can buy all the drinks you'll ever need.
It'll be like Disneyland except at least Disneyland is up-front about being a for-profit venture.
Money Money Money
Pete
The athletic stadium is supposed to hold 80,000 seats. The 100m finals sold out selling 40,000 tickets. What happened to the rest i wonder
djc1245
What. is. the. name. of. splits.
Sig
What. is. the. name. of. splits.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/oct/07/small-talk-jenna-randall
I HATE the Olympics ( but like all of you will be glued to the TV for 2 weeks solid, yep no tickets either)..... Shame on road.cc for even putting this article on the site
JP
I was going to comment on the awful Photoshopping, but scrolled through the comments first. Pleased to see Tony beat me to it!
Big business gets good value from sponsoring sports and the Olympics offers something for everyone. Hosting would cost the taxpayer far more if it wasn't for the commercial sponsorship.
Pete H & Darren C said it all... I completely agree
Sponsorship is OK as long as they don't stop people from taking there own water/food/sanity into a stadium
It's a shame that the olympics have to be turned into a buisness venture, which is what I thought the olympics were agains
What? No bike?
It is clear to me that the whole Olympic exercise is about a very small number of people making an awful lot of money, and nothing more.Grrrrrrr
What took you so long?
P&G aren't "supporting the Olympic movement", they are just another massive company muscling in and doing what big companies do best - crushing the competition and monopolising the market. It's PR bullshit.
If Vicky Pendleton wants to be a real winner she should stop putting that toxic shit on her hair.
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