Big sponsors investing in Quebec diving star

MONTREAL – Quebec diving star Alexandre Despatie has some big brand sponsorship behind him as he aims for what could be a career-capping gold medal in the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. has been sponsoring the Laval-born diver since 1999 and Proctor & Gamble Inc. Canada is now supporting Despatie, along with eight other Canadian Olympic hopefuls, featuring him as “brand ambassador” for its Gillette razors and his mother, Christiane Despatie, in YouTube video spots for its Moms advertising campaign.

Also watching closely how Despatie performs is Quebec law firm Lavery LLP, which has enjoyed a much more modest, but nonetheless visible, sponsorship arrangement with Despatie for the past three-years.

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Lawyers at the law firm and many others held their breath, then heaved a sigh of relief last Friday after Despatie performed an inward triple flip, the very dive that gave him a nasty head gash and a mild concussion a mere few weeks ago during a training session for the Diving Grand Prix in Madrid.

A gutsy Despatie subsequently took to Twitter (@ADespatie) on July 17, posting a link to a YouTube video of him once again successfully performing “THE” dive he hopes will capture him the gold in London.

“Even if he didn’t do the dive in competition, it is a major victory for Alex. All agree that he is a great source of inspiration,” Lavery said in a press release this week – part of a package of marketing efforts involving Despatie.

The law firm currently features an “exclusive” interview with the 27-year-old Despatie through a link on its main webpage and heralds the athlete’s promise for London with a dedicated message included with all of its outgoing emails.

Despatie – who first became associated with Lavery through corporate lawyer André Champagne, a long-time friend of the diver’s father in Laval-sur-le-Lac – has met with clients and the firm’s lawyers at functions and also receives some legal advice as part of his sponsorship arrangement.