Indiantelevision.com Team

(7 February 2009 9:15 pm)

NEW DELHI: Cereal firm Kellogg's has dropped Olympics gold medalist and swimmer Michael Phelps as the face of its popular brand Kellogg’s Frosties.

The decision to axe him as brand ambassador was taken after photographs showed the Olympic gold medalist smoking out of a glass pipe.

The firm ended its £750,000 deal with Phelp just hours after he was banned for three-months by the US swimming chiefs.

Kellogg's spokesperson Susanne Norwitz in a statement said, “We originally built the relationship with Michael, as well as the other Olympic athletes, to support our association with the US Olympic team. However Michael's most recent behaviour is not consistent with the image of Kellogg's. His contract expires at the end of February and we have made a decision not to extend his contract.”

Kellogg's had signed Phelps soon after his eight-medal performance at the Olympic Games in Beijing last year.

Meanwhile, Kellogg's has made it clear that it will not renew its contract with the US Olympic team, which ended last year.