USOC President LeRoy Walker said one of his top concerns,
when asked to give his thoughts on Atlanta entering the final
week, was commercial "overkill." Walker: "Maybe it doesn't
bother everybody else ... the tents, the number of vendors. I
don't know if I should hope some of that stuff is going to come
down after Opening Ceremonies or not" (Mike Fish, ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 7/13).
HE'S NOT ALONE: ESPN's Mitch Albom predicted viewers will
feel "bombarded by these Olympics," with a "tidal wave" of
corporate sponsorship ("Sports Reporters," 7/14). "Fox News
Sunday" explored whether the Olympics have "lost their luster in
a sea of hype." A Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll (conducted July
12; 900 U.S. voters surveyed; margin of error +/- 3%) found that
41% consider the Olympics the "world's largest athletic
competition," while 45% consider them the "world's largest
marketing event" (Fox, 7/14). In S.F., Julia Angwin predicts "an
unprecedented amount of advertising clutter" (S.F. CHRONICLE,
7/12).
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS: The WALL STREET JOURNAL reports
that official sponsors are worried less about ambush marketing
than they are about the "overloaded environment" from other
sponsors. Anheuser-Busch VP/Budweiser Brands Bob Lackhy: "My
game is not against Miller Brewing. My battle is against all the
other major international sponsors" (Emory Thomas, WALL STREET
JOURNAL, 7/15). BUSINESS WEEK notes sponsor complaints that ACOG
"has undermined the value of sponsorships by inking too many
deals, slicing product categories too thin, and letting in lower-
tier sponsors at bargain rates" (David Greising, BUSINESS WEEK,
7/22 issue). John Hancock, paying close to $35M overall on
Olympic spending this year, opted against buying sidewalk banners
and billboards, with Exec VP David D'Alessandro calling exposure
in Atlanta "a waste of money." D'Alessandro, on buying time on
NBC: "It's expensive, it's cluttered, and to some extent you're
buying to protect yourself from your competitors" (David
Halbfinger, BOSTON GLOBE, 7/14).
AMBUSH WATCH: The USOC has demanded that Fuji Film stop its
Olympic-related advertising -- particularly billboards in Atlanta
-- after a complaint from Eastman Kodak (KYODO NEWS, 7/13). AD
AGE notes the plans of Anheuser-Busch's competitors to establish
presences in Atlanta (Todd Pruzan, ADVERTISING AGE, 7/15 issue).
FINANCIAL TIMES notes activities by other non-sponsors: Daimler-
Benz's rehab of Margaret ("Gone With The Wind") Mitchell's house
for corporate entertaining and Samsung's facility next to
Centennial Park (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/15).
IZ YOU IS, OR IZ YOU AIN'T, MY BABY? The N.Y. POST reports
Izzy merchandise is being "snatched up throughout Atlanta by
souvenir-crazed tourists" (N.Y. POST, 7/15).
SPONSORSHIP NOTES: The SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS and the
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION both profile the high-tech devices being
provided by communications and computer sponsors (SAN JOSE
MERCURY NEWS, 7/13; ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/14).... "Wheel of
Fortune" and "Jeopardy" air their Olympic themed shows this week
(King World)....Ad budgets for some NBC sponsors: Coca-Cola
$60M, Anheuser-Busch $50M, Nike $35M, Delta $17M (N.Y. DAILY
NEWS, 7/14)....A-B's Paul Stoddart, whose company expects to
spend $120M on the Games overall: "You're crazy not to double
your investment in leveraging" (Andrew Gottesman, CHICAGO
TRIBUNE, 7/14)....At Russia's send-off for its athletes, one
swimmer showed up with the Reebok symbol shaved in his head
(BOSTON GLOBE, 7/14).... The Coca-Cola pin trading center is open
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/14)....The L.A. TIMES previews the test
run for smart cards by Visa and others (L.A. TIMES, 7/15).... USA
TODAY's Dottie Enrico previews the ad strategies of Coke, AT&T,
IBM and Reebok (USA TODAY, 7/15).
