Should BP Have Postponed Cubs-White Sox Sponsorship Amid Spill?

The BP Crosstown Cup will be awarded next Sunday to the winner of the Cubs-White Sox annual interleague series, but CHICAGO CRAIN'S BUSINESS' Ed Sherman wondered if in light of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, "should the Cubs and Sox and/or BP have decided to postpone the Cup for a year?" A planned marketing campaign around the trophy "has been reduced to a mere whisper," and the BP name "likely will cause fans to boo ... when the Cup is presented" to the winning team. Cubs Exec VP & CMO Wally Hayward said that delaying the Cup "wasn't considered." Hayward: "We look at all of our partners in the long term. Old Style has been with us for 60 years. BP is no different. We're looking to build equity over time." IEG Senior VP & Editorial Dir Jim Andrews said of BP, "They were in almost a no-win situation: They knew the Cup would be booed, but they would also have been criticized if they had pretended it didn't exist" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 6/21).

RINGING ENDORSEMENT: Peter Mather, BP's head of Country, U.K., indicated that the company "has no intention of withdrawing" its approximate US$58M sponsorship of the '12 London Games. Mather said, "This is something we've committed to a long time ago and will remain committed to." LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe "confirmed BP's ongoing involvement." Coe: "The partnership is still really strong. Their track record is one of the best. They understand the movement behind the games" (AP, 6/21). Coe noted that BP "was a 'trusted partner,' adding the spill 'does not make a difference to us at all'" (BBC.co.uk, 6/21).