Procter & Gamble is in the unaccustomed position of having to defend its business performance compared not only with rivals but with its own recent past, especially in North America and Europe.

For a company under that kind of watch, both perceptual and actual, what possibily could be better to get out there than images of U.S. Olympians — and their moms — taking advantage of P&G products at the company-supplied hair salon in the "home away from home" that it has set up in London?

The P&G Family Home pavilion at the Summer Olympics site has been a non-stop parade of Olympians and their family members, such as Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Breeja Larson (at right) and visiting fellow gold-medalist skier Lindsey Vonn (OK, she's a Winter Olympian) taking advantage of the salon's stylings featuring P&G's own family brands, and a photo opp showcasing the results.Continue reading...

Once again, Visa was quick off the mark with real-time congratulatory commercials for their sponsored athletes winning gold in the Summer Olympics. For Team USA women's beach volleyball champs Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor third consecutive (and final) Olympic gold medal, check out their reaction (below) to the new Morgan Freeman-narrated congratulatory spot (above). Also below, watch Visa's on-air congrats to Allyson Felix that aired on NBC after she won the gold (her first individual Olympic gold medal) in the women's 200m sprint.Continue reading...

As a top sponsor of Team USA, AT&T’s "My Journey" campaign highlights the path to the London 2012 Olympics for eight athletes, along with the mobile apps and content that helped get them through rigorous training. Condensed versions of the profiles are now running as commercials during NBC's primetime coverage of the Summer Games across America.

Fans can download each athlete's favorite app, such as gold medal-winning swimmer Ryan Lochte's favorite SuperMonkey Ball 2, song (Lochte picked "American Star" by Lil Wayne) and an item for a sweepstakes (Lochte signed a skateboard), now through August 14th.Continue reading...