London Olympics: The Fab Five vault into marketing maelstrom

Even before the chalk dust had settled from the last routine, the world knew the “Fab Five” of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team -- Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney -- would be the marketing world’s dream team.

It didn’t take long at all for the blitz to begin based on the email I received Thursday morning from Adidas, which alerted us that the young ladies popped by the brand’s media lounge Wednesday “to show off their gold medals, Adidas-designed leotards and pick up their own pair of adizero Primeknit, the new one-piece running shoe with seamless technology.”

In case you didn’t realize it (we didn’t until we spoke with an Adidas rep), the U.S. gymnastics teams -- men’s and women’s -- were the only American teams outfitted by the German company, so it makes sense that the Adidas media lounge would be the Fab Five’s first stop.

The email also gave some color on one of the colorful leotards that had been designed for the team’s 2012 Olympic Games -- and which Raisman was wearing when she earned a bronze medal on the balance beam.

The mostly blue, star-spangled outfits with white and red accents at the right shoulder were designed by Lou Lewer, embellished with Swarovski crystals and, for the first time ever (who knew?), featured printed graphics, a feature that makes the garments lighter and more flexible.

According to Adidas, inspiration for the star-spangled outfits included the American flag and the Art Deco architecture of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.

The stars are a nice touch since it’s clear that the Fab Five has the kind of star power that will have them gracing magazine covers, cereal boxes, toothpaste tubes and who knows what else, for years to come.

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