The year 2016 is an Olympic year, so Australian telecommunications company Optus has given a sporty boost to its ad campaigns.
On Wednesday, Optus announced athlete Usain Bolt had come on board as the new face of its brand. The sprinter takes over from comedian Ricky Gervais, whose ads for the company received decidedly mixed reviews.
Bolt, who is the fastest man in the world, will star in a series of ads exploring the theme of "relentless improvement," the company said in an emailed statement. Bolt holds the world records for the 100-metre sprint at 9.58 seconds and 200-metre sprint at 19.19 seconds, both achieved in Berlin, Germany in 2009.
A behind-the-scenes video series will also introduce fans to Bolt's family and hometown of Kingston, Jamaica, and follow him as he gets ready for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The ad series should go live in February.
"It's no secret that Usain Bolt competes to win ... He is relentless in his pursuit for excellence and it seems only fitting that we would engage with arguably one of the greatest and most renowned athletes in the world today," said Ben White, acting managing director of products and devices at Optus.
Optus is currently the second best mobile provider in Australia after Telstra, according to the 2015 P3 CommsDay Mobile Benchmark, but there's always room for improvement. If this new brand ambassador means Olympic-speed downloads are on the table, we're all ears.