Visa celebrates record-setting Olympic performance with new Michael Phelps “Go World” commercial, this campaign follows the same creative treatment as previous spots, using striking sepia tones combined with dramatic still photography. The spot closes with an already memorable image of Phelps celebrating the U.S. team’s gold medal performance in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay from earlier in the Beijing Olympic Games competition.

This special edition commercial commemorating Michael Phelps’ historic achievement of winning ten Olympic gold medals, setting the all-time record for most career Olympic gold medals. The spot, entitled “Congratulations Phelps,” aired on NBC during the first commercial break following his win in the 200 meter butterfly at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

“Michael Phelps truly embodies the spirit of our ‘Go World‘ campaign that celebrates memorable Olympic moments and the extraordinary athletes who achieve them,” said Kevin Burke, head of global consumer marketing of Visa Inc. “We congratulate Michael on this momentous achievement and wish him the best as he continues his march towards Olympic history.”

The spot marks the latest extension of Visa’s U.S. advertising campaign “Go World.” The campaign evokes the emotion and memories of unforgettable moments in Olympic history and features current Olympic and Paralympic athletes and Olympic legends. The integrated campaign includes national television commercials, print and online advertisements, and an online microsite.

Visa has had a long standing relationship with Phelps through its Team Visa program, featuring him in two previous national television commercials (“Lap” and “Fish”), and partnering with him to grow the sport of swimming around the world through domestic and international goodwill tours.

Visa Inc., a worldwide Olympic partner for more than two decades, operates the world’s largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms.

Image Credit : Visa

Update :

Michael Phelps swam into history as the winningest Olympic athlete ever with his 10th career gold medal — and fourth world record of the Beijing Games. A day after etching his name alongside Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis with gold No. 9, Phelps claimed the record all to himself when he won the 200-meter butterfly Wednesday morning. More @ News.Yahoo.com

Updated 17.08.2008 :

Michael Phelps makes impossible dream come true, has become the most decorated gold medalist in history, winning eight gold medals in a single Olympic Games at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In addition to winning 8 gold medals, Phelps set 5 individual world records.