Mr. Phelps and the Impossible Mission Brand

 

"Good afternoon Mr. Phelps, are you sure you want to take on this impossible mission? Remember the popular television show from the 1960s, made even more popular by Tom Cruise and the movie versions? Mr. Phelps was given an impossiblee mission to ponder. I wonder if that ever crossed the mind of another Mr. Phelps. Did he have an impossible mission to uphold ? The image that many of us created for the swimming Mr. Phelps.

Back in August, like many around the world, I was singing the praises of Michael Phelps and how his efforts and demeanor were improving the image of America. As ESPN analyst, Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my friend." If memory serves me correct, I even featured Mr. Phelps as a Brand Champion of the Day. Now comes word and photos that maybe the mission was impossible. 

I am not here to slam Michael Phelps. That has already been done by many others. What I am hear to do is remind every business, nonprofit and individual brand, that it only takes one mistake, or one online photo to dilute our brand. Our brand champions might think we are brand chumps.