The mysterious release of a photo of Michael Phelps in a
bathtub, shot for a Louis Vuitton ad campaign, threatens to cause a splash of a
different kind. Everyone involved in creating the photo denies having released
it early, perhaps because it may put Phelps in hot water with the International
Olympic Committee.
A new IOC regulation, called Rule 40, prohibits athletes
from appearing in ads for non-Olympic sponsors from July 18 to Aug. 15.
According to the IOC's 19 page explainer, Rule 40 is designed to prevent ambush
marketing, defined as non-Olympic sponsors trying to associate themselves with
the Olympic brand.
Yet two photos of the Olympic swimmer, shot by the
photographer Annie Leibovitz, began circulating during the time period in which
athletes are prohibited from appearing in advertisements. A website in
Barcelona called elperiodico.com printed the bathtub photo on Aug. 7 and
announced that Phelps was the new face of Louis Vuitton. Then the Daily Mail in
Britain followed up on Monday, Aug. 13, with two photos and the headline "Let
the fashion endorsements begin, Michael Phelps announced as latest face of
Louis Vuitton core values campaign….."
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