Michael Phelps Pot-Smoking Pic Grips World
A UK tabloid photo of Michael Phelps taking a bong hit has captivated web searchers this morning, with "Michael Phelps smoking weed," "phelps marijuana," and other related terms soaring up the Google Trends charts.
What's interesting from a business perspective, though, is the alleged attempt of Phelps' marketing firm, Octagon, to kill the story:
Phelps is represented by marketing giant Octagon, which works with huge brands such as Mastercard and HSBC. They admitted proven cannabis use would be “a major taint” on Phelps’ character.
Spokesman Clifford Bloxham offered us an extraordinary deal not to publish our story, saying Phelps would become our columnist for three years, host events and get his sponsors to advertise with us.
In return, he asked that we kill Phelps’ bong picture. Bloxham said: “It’s seeing if something potentially very negative for Michael could turn into something very positive for the News of the World.”
:
good on phelps for smoking marijuana and winning all them medals! more proof pot is good for what ails you.
There’s a great editorial on Michael Phelps pot bust and how it relates to parenting at
http://tinyurl.com/bs79sh
next thing you know, Phelps will be trading in his medals to score something even more hardcore than weed — like a pack of Marlboros!