Olympic Marketing Roundup

24 Hour Fitness will announce tomorrow that it has renewed its deal through 2012 as the official fitness center sponsor of the U.S. Olympic team. 24 Hour Fitness also is expected to expand its jobs program for Olympians. 24 Hour started its backing of the USOC and a host of NGBs in '04. Terms of the deal were not available (Jay Weiner, THE DAILY).

Under Armour Sponsoring U.S. Olympic Field Hockey Team

FIELD TEST: The BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL's Ryan Sharrow notes Under Armour (UA) is sponsoring the U.S. Olympic Women's field hockey team in Beijing, and the team “will don custom-made Under Armour uniforms.” The company also has sponsorship deals with two U.S. Olympic volleyball players and three U.S. Olympic softball players, including P Cat Osterman, who will wear UA cleats. In addition, UA has “several smaller-scale deals with [European] athletes to wear base layered apparel” (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/1 issue).

SPONSORS NOT BACKING DOWN: CNBC's Darren Rovell discussed how issues like Beijing's air quality and China's human rights record could affect Olympic sponsors. Rovell: “The Chinese government doesn't want the Games to be politicized. ... But we do know what the reality of the situation is and we'll have to see what happens over the next two-and-a-half weeks as far as how the sponsors deal with it.” Meanwhile, despite several natural disasters hitting the country, protests of the Olympic torch relay and China’s handling of Tibet, there has been "no evidence that any of the major companies have scaled back on what they originally planned" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 8/5).

LONDON'S CALLING: BRAND REPUBLIC’s Ed Kemp reports LOCOG “will begin its search for second- and third-tier sponsors once this month’s Beijing Olympics end.” LOCOG already has agreed to deals with seven tier-one partners but "hopes to attract at least two more.” LOCOG will sign between 10-15 second-tier sponsors and more than 20 third-tier sponsors (BRANDREPUBLIC.com, 8/5). Meanwhile, IOC TOP sponsor McDonald’s is “not exploiting its multimillion-pound global Olympic sponsorship in the UK [for the Beijing Games], prompting suggestions that it does not want the British public to associate it with the controversy surrounding” the event (BRANDREPUBLIC.com, 8/5).

NOTES: Vizio is launching a new media campaign to support its HD sponsorship of NBC’s Beijing Games broadcast. The first ad, titled “Splash,” will debut Friday during NBC’s Opening Ceremony coverage (Vizio)....PETA tomorrow will unveil an ad featuring U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard nude as part of the organization’s new ad campaign (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 8/4)....U.K. Olympians triple jumper Phillips Idowu, cyclist Rebecca Romero and swimmer Gregor Tait “have all been photographed taking part in their individual sports stark naked as part of an advertising campaign” for Powerade (REUTERS, 8/4).