Beckham in £40m deal to become global face of Gillette

by Gordon MacMillan,, Brand Republic 26-Apr-04, 08:30

LONDON - David Beckham is reported to have signed a £40m advertising deal to become the global face of Gillette, proving that sleazy senoritas and infidelity texts are no barrier to swelling the England football captain's bank balance.

Gillette has been in talks with Beckham's management team, Simon Fuller's 19, the whole time his affair with Rebecca Loos was dominating the tabloid front pages for the last four weeks.

According to a report, Gillette is to launch Beckham in the US after Euro 2004 in Portugal this summer when he is again likely to dominate headlines.

The record-breaking deal with Gillette, which at £40m would be the biggest in British advertising history, was personally negotiated by Fuller, who has masterminded all Beckham's new deals since the footballer joined 19's roster in July 2003.

It puts into the shade the estimated £1m that Loos is reported to have picked up for a string of tabloid and television interviews, where she has spilled details of her affair with Beckham.

When Fuller signed Beckham, and his wife Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham, the intention was to launch the celebrity couple as a packaged global brand.

"Simon's company 19 and Gillette have had numerous meetings where they decided the best way to launch him would be straight after Euro 2004. It was decided that David would get maximum publicity directly after playing for England -- meaning they would strike while the iron is hot. This would suit both brands," someone familiar with the deal said.

The Gillette contract will make Beckham the most famous sports star in the world as Gillette launches its campaign not just in the US, where Beckham is relatively unknown, but in Asia where he is already a big star from his days with Manchester United.

The deal dwarfs existing sponsorship and endorsement deals Beckham has signed with; Pepsi, estimated to be worth £5m internationally; Adidas, estimated at £3m; and Vodafone, around £1m.

The signing of the deal is also confirmation that the two reported affairs with Rebecca Loos and Sarah Marbeck have only added to his stature because consumers do not see talk of an affair as damning as it once was.

Robert Phillips, co-founder of Jackie Cooper PR, said: "I think that consumers care less about marital infidelity than the editor of the News of the World. In the short term, this further fuels Beckham-mania."

As well as Adidas, Beckham starred in the Pepsi "gladiators" global advertising push during January and February and also appears globally in ads for Vodafone.

Top 10 global ad deals

1 Kobe Bryant, basketball -- £70m Nike

2 Tiger Woods, golf -- £64m Nike

3 David Beckham, football -- Gillette £40m

4 LeBron James, basketball -- £30m Nike

5 Venus Williams, tennis -- £27m Reebok

6 Michael Jordan, basketball -- £27m Nike

7 Britney Spears, singer -- £20m Pepsi

8 Michael Schumacher, Formula 1 -- £20m Ferrari

9 Peter Sampras, tennis -- £19m Nike

10 Anna Kournaikova, tennis -- £10m Omega

Top 10 UK ad deals