“Soft And Fuzzy” Ads Will Have No Place At ’08 Beijing Games

Chinese Ad Exec Says Olympic Sponsors Should Focus Campaigns On Winning

J. Walter Thompson Greater China CEO Tom Doctoroff said that advertising messages from sponsors at the ’08 Beijing Games “depicting the Olympics as a coming together of world athletes and celebration of humankind will fail to sell products in the host nation because the Chinese are much more interested in winning,” according to Stephen Brook of the Manchester GUARDIAN. Doctoroff: “Don’t go soft and fuzzy in the western humankind brotherhood tradition. China will view the games with completely different eyes. Chinese revere and fear winners. You should directly link the product with the conquering spirit of the victors.” More Doctoroff: “Don’t get caught up with what Chinese don’t care about. ... What they really want is how can your product help them to move forward” (Manchester GUARDIAN, 9/12).