MARKETING MAGAZINE wrote IOC TOP sponsor McDonald's CEO Jill McDonald is "direct, admitting that the negative press comes with the territory when you are a polarising brand." McDonald said, "I am not going to worry about other sponsors or what the media is writing about. I am only worried about what our customers think. She added, "We thought long and hard about the link between our brand and the Olympics. We are the people's restaurant, and, therefore we thought the campaign idea 'We all make the Games' was democratic. It will be our fans, our volunteers and our crew in the busy restaurants. You have to think upfront and make sure it is not a lazy association" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 8/1).
MONEY TALKS: In London, Charles Sale noted rights-holders in the Olympic Hospitality Centre, which is reserved for official sponsors and guests, "have expressed concern that wealthy spectators have been able to buy their way into the facility." It is "alleged access was arranged through hospitality provider Jet Set Sports," a sister company of CoSport, whose "botched Olympic ticket distribution caused chaos before the Games." LOCOG said that they "have no evidence of transgressions" (DAILY MAIL, 8/1).
