Despite not being official Olympic sponsors, Nike and
adidas "have found ways to get lots of air time" in Nagano,
according to A. Craig Copetas of the WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Nike has its swoosh on the uniforms of CBS's personnel and
has "branded" 598 Olympians, including every hockey player
in the Games via a deal with the IIHF. But adidas "takes
the gold, boasting 1,700 athletes in Nagano legally
festooned" with the adidas logo (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/12).
WELL, WHO DOES? On "Moneyline," CNN's Fred Katayama
examined ambush marketing in Nagano, and cited Campbell's
and Wendy's as non-Olympic sponsors using Olympic athletes
in ads. The USOC "pressured" Campbell's marketing partner,
the USFSA, "into paying a fee of about $400,000 to get a
waiver" for the ads, while Wendy's is using a hockey theme
to suggest an Olympics connection, but McDonald's had to pay
about $40M to be a global sponsor. Nike Advertising Dir
Craig Zimmerman: "For us, being an official sponsor of the
Olympics really isn't the critical element. It's much more
important that people realize our ongoing involvement in
sports, unlike some of the other sponsors, who really need
the Olympics to connect to sports" ("Moneyline," CNN, 2/11).
