Beckham's awareness in the U.S. increases sharply

Just two weeks after signing with the Major Soccer League's Los Angeles Galaxy, David Beckham's awareness among U.S. consumers has nearly doubled, according to the Davie Brown Index (DBI).

When Beckham announced he was moving from Real Madrid to the Galaxy on January 11, only 33 percent of U.S. consumers knew who he was.

But his most recent DBI report, released yesterday, shows that nearly 63 percent of U.S. consumers are aware of the former England captain.

"At this point, Becks is already as well-known in the States as celebrity-athletes like Jack Nicklaus, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and John Elway," said Jeff Chown, president of Davie Brown Talent, which developed the DBI as a tool for evaluating a celebrity's brand value. "When it's all over, he'll be on-par with the best-known American sports-celebs -- guys like Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods."

In addition to awareness, the DBI measures celebrities across seven other attributes, including appeal, notice, and trust.

Since his announcement on January 11, Beckham's appeal (or likability) score has increased five points, ranking him ahead of popular celebrity-athletes such as Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson.

"The Galaxy landing Beckham is like a movie producer landing Tom Hanks," said Chown, whose agency negotiates celebrity endorsements. "Suddenly, you have a chance to really make something special."