Who has done more for his shoe sponsor: Usain Bolt or Eliud Kipchoge?

Absolutely Bolt. At least in America, Puma just isn't a common show at many stores, Nike is everywhere. He was worth to Puma whatever they paid him. Bolt got multiple TV closeups on the start line, after the finish. His outgoing personality put him on TV, in magazines. Kipchoge and his famous monk-like existence just doesn't put him out there for the sports press, or interest the general press, like Bolt.

Sprint spikes are for a minority.

In contrast, anyone can run in Vaporfly and Alphafly.

I vote Kipchoge.

All good points, but did all that exposure translate into a lasting benefit for Puma (through sales, increased market share, etc.)?

I assume Kipchoge. there are far more wannabe Kipchoges than there are Bolts. Hard to fit 30,000 potential shoe purchasers on a track but not a problem in London, Boston, Berlin, etc.

This is an interesting argument. It's so nebulous--the fact that Nike tries to sign all the biggest names in every sport suggests that fame itself matters a lot.

But it's a very good point that name recognition only matters to the extent that it leads to sales. Maybe Bolt got the Puma brand in front of so many people that we all subliminally associate it with success, and we'll all buy 0.1 extra pairs of Puma over a lifetime or something.

With Kipchoge, it's far more direct. He more than anyone else is the face of Nike's superspikes, and there's a good chance that without him, no one would have captured the moment to quite the same extent. It's quite likely that Kipchoge caused more people to buy superspikes early on (when Nike was dominant) and that he also was a big part of Nike getting the reputation for having the best superspikes. Of course, it does help that they really were first to the mark.

One of the main reasons that golfers and cyclists have larger sponsorship contracts than runners is that there's so much expensive gear that the serious amateur will actually buy, and their choice depend's at least partially on the success of the athletes who use that brand. If Kipchoge has pushed running in that direction, he's been worth many times his Nike contract.

Shoe sales aren't the relevant metric for comparison. Relevance is.

I think Bolt made Puma more relevant and increased their brand recognition more than Kipchoge did. You need to separate the shoes from the athlete. When you think of Puma, you think of Bolt and maybe some soccer players. When most people think of Nike, they cold list tens of athletes wearing their shoes and Kipchoge may or may not be one of them.

This.

Running shoes hardly move the needle, especially when you're Nike. Puma by miles.

Relevant in what way? People now know who Puma is? I definitely agree that Bolt is the guy at Puma while Kipchoge is just another star in the Nike stable. But is that enough to say Puma has benefitted more from Bolt than Nike has from Kipchoge if it doesn’t translate into sales?

Kipchoge had a bigger financial impact. He made the super shoes popular, well marketing did that. Sprinting isn’t popular in the middle age and boomer community. Especially the white boomer community. Distance running can be. Bolt did not do much for puma , bolt did much for Jamaica at the world stage. Can’t believe how financially illiterate some of these commentators are. Where is Puma popularity in sprints and distance running?

Hmm I dont see celebrities/rappers talking about Kipchoge too much.

Relevant in the sense that people know who Puma is and they know that Puma makes serious and competitive shoes at least partly as a result of Bolt's performances. His job was to elevate the brand. How Puma then monetized that through marketing is not Bolt's problem or focus.

Nike was already relevant and Kipchoge's performances were a blip on the radar in terms of what it did for the brand. I think people are giving too much credit to Kipchoge in what he did for their shoes. The shoes were good, people knew Nike made good shoes, and they could have successfully marketed them in any number of ways. Kipchoge helped, but his role was smaller than Bolt's in that regard.

I think Bolt made Puma more relevant and increased their brand recognition more than Kipchoge did , This is dead on. Also, it's a big world out side of the USA you know. Puma is huge world wide.

When people see Puma, they most likely think Bolt first.

When people see Nike, they think of a hundred athletes before Kipchoge, including a number of firmer runners (like Michael Johnson).

These companies aren’t making a ton of money selling marathon super shoes or sprinter spikes. They are making money on other shoes and apparel.

Bolt has brought more brand recognition and done more for Puma.

1. Where did you get this from? Lots of people will tune into the 100m final at the Olympics, the same can't be said for other distances.

2. Middle aged people and boomers aren't the only ones buying shoes. If anything, kids/young people drive more sales.

Answer is Mondo du PlantarFasciitis.

My guess is that Bolt moved the needle more for lifestyle shoes and clothing for Puma than kipchoge did for Nike running. My only hesitation would be wondering what the impact of Kipchoge's sub 2 project and WRs had on early vaporfly sales.

Kipchoge. I worked for Puma and Nike and Puma did not sell as many shoes as Kipchige did for Nike with Vapor and AlphaFly.