The spot, entitled “Congratulations Phelps,” aired on US host broadcaster NBC during the first commercial break following his win in the men's 200m butterfly final in world record pace at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Visa has had a longstanding relationship with Phelps through its Team Visa program, featuring him in two previous national television commercials (“Lap” and “Fish”), and partnering with him to grow the sport of swimming around the world through domestic and international goodwill tours.
“Congratulations Phelps” marks the latest extension of Visa's US advertising campaign “Go World and follows the same creative treatment as previous spots, using striking sepia tones combined with dramatic still photography. The spot closes with an already memorable image of Phelps celebrating the US team's gold medal performance in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay from earlier in the Beijing Olympic Games competition.
“Michael Phelps truly embodies the spirit of our ‘Go World' campaign that celebrates memorable Olympic moments and the extraordinary athletes who achieve them,” said Kevin Burke, head of global consumer marketing of Visa. “We congratulate Michael on this momentous achievement and wish him the best as he continues his march towards Olympic history.”
The US campaign evokes the emotion and memories of unforgettable moments in Olympic history and features current Olympic and Paralympic athletes and Olympic legends. The integrated campaign includes national television commercials, print and online advertisements, and an online microsite.
Fans can visit www.visa.com/GoWorld to view ads, learn more about the heroic feats of Olympians past and present, and submit stories about Olympic moments that have inspired them for a chance to be featured on the website alongside sporting greats.
