Without question, there are a number of athletes that are becoming the marketing faces of London 2012 – certainly during this pre-Games period. Successful stars from Beijing such as Victoria Pendleton and Sir Chris Hoy, as well world champions Jessica Ennis, Mo Farrah, and rising gymnastics star Louis Smith can be seen adorning campaigns from a number of brands – both sponsors and ambush.

While athletes look to make the most of their commercial opportunities while they can, it appears that brands are getting wiser about athlete failure and any related embarrassment (think Tiger Woods and Ryan Giggs sex scandals). Sticking with sporting related issues, some brands were left ashen faced during Beijing when Chinese star hurdler Liu Xiang withdrew from the Games due to injury. This was a blow to the 14 brands he endorsed, which had between them invested ‘around $500 million in measured media’ (according to Chinese media research agency R3) in the two year period preceding the Games. Fortunately for some of Xiang’s sponsors, including the likes of Coca-Cola and Visa, they used a catalogue of ambassadors so when one ‘failed’ such as Xiang they could hype up other more successful endorsers. This appears to be a strategy undertaken by a number of sponsors ahead of London 2012.

Visa is the presenting partner for UK-based fundraising initiative ‘Team 2012’, and its international sponsorship programme – ‘Team Visa’ has seen it induct 50 athletes from countries worldwide to the team.  Given the range of brand endorsers, should any complications arise with one athlete, Visa is well placed to minimise the effect on its Olympic-related activity. Other sponsors have also adopted similar approaches by using a portfolio of endorsers – such as BMW through its Performance Teams and British Airways with its array of British athletes who have featured in its ‘Let Them Fly’ communications.

Another brand opting not to concentrate specifically on one athlete is P&G, which recently announced its global list of ambassadors in addition to its UK-specific athletes to represent both its sub-brands and the corporate brand itself. Cyclist Victoria Pendleton has been selected as an ambassador for P&G’s Pantene brand, whilst she is also representing other official sponsors such as adidas, Lloyds TSB and EDF Energy. In 2010, she was signed by bread-maker Hovis, and has featured in the brand’s early 2012 activity aimed at promoting active lifestyles amongst women.

Will consumers fail to realise which brands she and Jessica Ennis endorse as there are so many? One way Hovis is trying to counter this with Pendleton is through a long term association. As she’s been fronting activity for them for two years now, the two are becoming synonymous. Those brands that start to use endorsers just prior to the Games (though restrictions preventing non-sponsors from using athletes during the Games itself) may struggle to get the required cut-through among the melee of sport-related creative.