Tour De Promotional Products

So I happened to stumble upon a headline today stating that Lance Armstrong was fined what winds up being the equivalent of $92 by the Tour De France Competition Committee for failing to sign in before riding in the third stage of the race. Not that this is much of a big deal to Lance or a blow to his team by any means, just one of those darn things called ‘a rule’, and unfortunately he did not abide by it. The tour competition director also took this time to criticize Lance for not making himself more available for fans. “We simply asked his team to have a respectful attitude toward the public," the competition director said. "They [fans] want to see the team, they have been here since 7 a.m. and they don't see him." Maybe it’s just me, but since when does a world class athlete become the bad guy for not catering to the fans in the midst of their biggest event of the year? In fact, Astana team spokesman Philippe Maertens said that the main reason for Armstrong’s late arrival and inability to sign in had to do with him being held up by signing autographs and the general circus that follows Lance Armstrong around. Not to mention, athletes that have done far worse than 'ignore fans', are still beloved and embraced in many cases. So please Tour De France Competition Committee, count your blessings that there even is a huge star to draw ratings and interest to your sport/event. The least you can do is not pick on the guy. But that got me to thinking, not only has Lance Armstrong done so much for the Tour De France and competitive biking, but he’s done amazing things for promotional products too! Well, its really just one product, but who knows where the popularity of promotional awareness bracelets would be without Lance Armstrong? And he of course wasn’t just raising awareness for awareness bracelets, he was raising a ridiculous amount of awareness and funding for cancer research. That’s the point of the custom awareness bracelet in general, to show your support for a cause or foundation without having to say a word. When Lance first ran this promotion, the famous ‘LIVESTRONG’ yellow bracelets were being sold for a dollar a piece in a variety of venues and stores. The now dual-purpose promotional product not only raised awareness by appearing on millions of wrists across the country, but it raised money for the cause at the same time. Now I am a fan of getting creative with promotional products, so I’d suggest that next time, they wrap an awareness bracelet around a custom water bottle and market them as a package deal. You could cross promote a healthier and even eco-friendlier lifestyle with the use of your promotional sport bottle, while at the same time raising awareness and contributing to the original cause.