Nike "will take centre stage" as a sponsor of the
Summer Games "in just a few days' time," and, unlike the '96
Games in Atlanta, "this time around it will be Nike who must
protect itself from" former Olympics sponsor Reebok and the
"increasingly aggressive marketer," adidas, according to
Andrew Hornery of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Nike is
"already erecting the world's biggest billboard on a
skyscraper" in Sydney's business district featuring
Australian sprinter Cathy Freeman. Around Homebush Bay,
Nike has built a "chill-out zone," designed "specifically"
for its sponsored athletes, where they can "relax, entertain
themselves and escape the pressures" of the Olympic Park.
But Nike said that it will "not turn away athletes it
doesn't sponsor if they are friends" of the Nike-sponsored
athletes. Nike Dir of Global Issues Management Vada
Manager, one of 100 Nike execs going to Sydney for the
Games, said, "Sponsorship does not dilute or erode
creativity. In fact, it is probably an enhancer. For us
the Olympics, when you strip the varnish off, is really
about the athletes." When asked about other companies
possibly ambushing Nike, Manager said, "As we have often
state, they see what Nike does and try to follow and
replicate what we do" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/31).
