Despite the artwork being ready since February and the launch planned for last month, Brazil's advertising campaign is "gathering dust three months before the Games are due to kick off -- a victim of the country's political crisis," according to Boadle & Eisenhammer of REUTERS. The impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, which "could see her forced from office as soon as next week, has stripped her government of political support and left several ministries rudderless." Tourism, Health, Energy & Mining and Sports are "among the ministerial portfolios now held by civil servants with little political authority." Embratur, the government tourism department responsible for promoting the Olympics overseas, "has had three leaders in 30 days, as consecutive parties abandoned Rousseff, derailing efforts to press ahead with the campaign." One source involved in preparing the Olympic campaign, "admitting Brazil was missing an opportunity by leaving it so late," said, "It's been a mess." Britain launched its much-lauded "Great" campaign for London 2012 nearly a year before the Games. Without the int'l campaign, there has been "little to compete with negative headlines surrounding the Zika virus, the deepest economic recession in decades and political collapse." The marketing campaign's delay could "jeopardize government estimates that the Olympics would give a much-needed" $1.7B boost to the economy (REUTERS, 5/4).
