It appears that Kellogg’s may have damaged its brand by dumping Michael Phelps over his harmless bong hit:

Dumping Michael Phelps over the now notorious photo of him taking a bong rip is not looking like the best move for Kellogg. Pot activists, who insist they make up a large share of consumers of Kellogg products, organized a boycott of the company. The boycott resonated with Kellogg customers to such a degree that when you called Kellogg, the first audio recording you heard was not about the nation-wide salmonella outbreak that had sickened dozens of people, but was a message for callers who were concerned about the company’s relationship with Phelps.

Silicon Alley Insider has actually crunched the numbers and discovered that dumping Phelps has indeed damaged the Kellogg’s brand considerably.

Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer on the planet, now has “taint” on him according to British tabloid News Of The World. Phelps visited his girlfriend at the University of South Carolina last November where he attended several parties. At one party, Phelps was photographed smoking marijuana from a glass bong.

The pictures could mean immediate disqualification from the next Olympic games based on the current drug rules. Phelps’s PR people offered News Of The World a variety of incentives not to publish the photographs, but the tabloid declined.

This is a hugely overblown story. Who cares if Phelps was hitting a bong at a party? Who hasn’t? With the kind of regimented and disciplined life he’s had to lead up until now to become such an amazing athlete — he deserves to have a little fun. Let the man enjoy his youth a little bit.

Because Phelps smoked a little grass at a party, doesn’t change the fact that he’s still the greatest swimmer the world has ever known.

It’s not as if he was caught injecting steroids into his ass in a seedy motel room. He was incredibly foolish to put his endorsement deals at risk by taking bong hits in public view, but I’m sure all his new found fame is a little overwhelming.

Give the guy a break.

-Chris Jones

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