Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Olympic Athletes Turn Attention to Endorsements

Aired February 26, 2002 - 06:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now that the Winter Olympics are over, a lot of the athletes that were going for the gold are doing it again. You say, well our Susan Lisovicz has the green side of Olympic gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is the first African American to win gold in the Winter Games. There is the third generation Olympian who carried the picture of his grandfather to victory, and there is the gold medal speed skater who worked at Home Depot to make ends meet. Charismatic figures with dramatic performances of the Salt Lake Winter Olympics have captured viewers' attention and corporate America's.

Listen to gold medal snowboarder Ross Powers.

ROSS POWERS, GOLD MEDAL WINNER: My agent's been super busy.

LISOVICZ: And so has the agent for Canadian pair skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who scored the first big deal post Olympics with Crest toothpaste.

MICHAEL KEHOE, PROCTOR & GAMBLE: They made the world smile. Their smiles are beautiful, in the first place, very natural and healthy, beautiful looking.

LISOVICZ: But experts say determining who will take home the most endorsement gold could be as tricky as some Olympic judging.

Gold medal figure skater Sarah Hughes could have limited options.

STEVE ROSENER, FOUNDER 16W MARKETING: When Madison Avenue or any other company is looking for somebody to get involved in, I think the one thing they're looking for is credibility, and I think with credibility the one thing that she lacks is experience and no fault of hers, but she's 16 years old.

LISOVICZ: But experts say some Olympic champions like Dan Jansen have managed to forge careers that are at least as long their pursuit of athletic excellence.

ROBERT URBACH, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, SFX SPORTS GROUP: It's very popular and powerful giving corporate, head noting corporate speeches and of course served as a broadcaster for NBC, which, you know his career has clearly transcended his Olympic performance.

LISOVICZ: Double silver medalist Bode Miller considers Jansen a role model.

BODE MILLER, U.S. OLYMPIC ATHLETE: I want things that are -- that I can relate to or that I think, you know, I can really endorse and support company with some -- with some honesty myself.

LISOVICZ: But he's ruled some things out.

MILLER: I mean there's obvious things -- I'm not going to be doing any women's lingerie ads or things like that.

LISOVICZ: And that's another thing corporate sponsors want, a good personality and good sportsmanship. That may be one reason why Michelle Kwan is the least to make more endorsement money than the woman who edges past her in Nagano, Tara Lipinski.

Susan Lisovicz, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com