Michael Phelps: the $6.8 Million RMB Man

Someone has been eating his Wheaties, I mean, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

Michael Phelps has inked a record $1 million (or $6.8 million RMB, in Chinese currency) endorsement deal with Mazda in China that will make him the highest-paid Western celebrity sponsor in the history of that country.

Michael Phelps will be showing himself off to promote the Mazda 6 automobile via appearances and television / print / outdoor ads. The historical sponsorship deal aims to aid the Japanese automaker's flaccid sales in China, which according to Bloomberg News have been running out of gas.

DMG Entertainment, a division of Chinese media and entertainment group Dynamic Marketing Group, made the deal. The campaign will be created by D3, an advertising division of DMG, and will be unveiled in the first half of 2009 in Greater China.

Since his rise to stardom as the winningest Olympic swimmer, Phelps has pimped products for VISA, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Rosetta Stone language tutorial software, Subway, among others.


Rosetta Stone endorsement .. no idea.

Michael Phelps loves Subway sandwiches, and and ..

History never fails to repeat itself. Phelps should study the rise and fall of Wayne's World, and verbal gems like "It's like people only do things if they get paid, and that's just really sad".