Olympic athletes have become a hot commodity on Madison Avenue as the world gears up for this summer's games in Brazil.

Visa, a longtime sponsor of the event, tapped the star power of a whole athletic ensemble in its latest Olympics-centered ad campaign, which premiered this week.

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In one of the commercials, which is debuting below, volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings shuts down a series of increasingly indulgent shopping suggestions from track star and Olympic hopeful English Gardner -- only to leave the store with a giant stuffed bear.

The commercial is the product of a partnership between Costco and Visa that gives the credit card company exclusive province over all of Costco's checkout counters. It marks the big-box retailer's first foray into national television advertising. 

Another spot, which aired during Game 7 of the NBA finals on Sunday, features a host of Olympic hopefuls taking a whimsical road trip to Rio. 

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With a rapt audience of hundreds of millions of TV viewers, the Olympics is an important stage for advertisers looking to reach a global crowd. A new rule change by the International Olympic Committee is also giving brands that aren't official sponsors more leeway in how they can advertise around the event.

For Visa, which sat out the Super Bowl commercials this year, the games are its biggest advertising event of the year.  

The company says it puts more emphasis on well-rounded appeal and diversity than simple popularity when sizing up Olympic talent.   

"Our entire creative thrust was focused on the concept of acceptance," says Visa's chief brand and innovation marketing officer, Chris Curtin.

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TopicsOlympicsAdvertising