-
Medal Stand
Gold
Kellogg Co.
The company is taking a cue from rival General Mills' Wheaties and putting the star of the Beijing Games, Michael Phelps, on the cover of its cereal boxes. It will put Phelps on the front of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes in the coming weeks in a move best described as scooping the competition.
Silver
Shawn Johnson
After being bested for gold in the all-around competition by teammate Nastia Liukin, the Iowan looked like she might return home without a gold of her own. But Johnson dug one out in her last event, giving her a chance to extend her endorsement window beyond the Games.
Bronze
Beijing's buzz
Is it because the Olympic Green is closed, or because the city is so large and sprawling? It's hard to say, but Helios Partners CEO Chris Welton, whose firm has worked with past Olympic host cities, returned from Beijing saying that the city lacked the buzz of other Olympic cities.
Tin
USOC
How many unflattering situations will the USOC find itself in during the 17 days of the Games? First came the cyclists wearing USOC-issued masks. Then came the organization staying silent when Joey Cheek's visa to China was denied. Now, it has had to apologize to other national organizing committees for offering U.S. Olympians a $50 voucher if they voted in this Thursday's IOC Athletes Commission election, a violation of IOC rules.Comments -
OUTSIDE THE RINGS
Buying A Gift Turns Into Full-Contact Shopping
I am not a haggler. I don’t like to shop. I know what I want. I go to Target or Office Max and I get my white socks and printer ink. If I need dressy clothes, I have a favorite store that’s a bit pricey, but I know the salesman and he knows what I want.
That’s my shopping style.
So, it was with a great deal of discomfort that I embarked into the Chinese world of shopping Tuesday morning, my first foray into hand-to-hand commerce. Read More > -
OUTSIDE THE RINGS
Wall Offers Best Example Of Challenges In China
The ex-pats I talked to said it would be easy. Offer a cab driver 300 RMB ($44) to take you to the Great Wall, be prepared to haggle and definitely don’t pay more than 500 RMB ($73).
But when I tried to explain this plan to the woman at the front desk of my hotel she shook her head.
“That’s too much money,” she said. “Take the bus.”
I didn’t have time to take the bus. I had to be back in Beijing by noon, and traveling to the Mutianyu section of the Wall was an hour and a half each way. Read More > -
On The Ground: The Marketing Arm's Mary O'Connor
We continue our conversation with Mary O’Connor, who heads The Marketing Arm’s Olympic division and is in Beijing leading all Olympic sponsorship initiatives for the agency’s clients. SShe took time to answer our questions via e-mail over the weekend from Beijing and looks back at her first 10 days in the city. Read More >
-
OUTSIDE THE RINGS
Watch Out, Barcelona … Beijing Is Closing Fast
I was IM-ing from Beijing to St. Paul, Minn., with my lovely wife today. She asked the probing question: How do these Olympics rank in your scheme of things?
You gotta understand. I’ve been married to Ann for 22 years, but I’ve been engaged to the Olympics since 1984. I’ve often been asked my favorite Games, and the two that always come out of my mouth first are the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics and the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games.
But her question gave me pause. Read More > -
Medal Stand
Gold
Ad buyers
If anyone's looking good these days, it's the ad buyers who bought time during the Olympics. Ratings are exceeding expectations, garnering a 17.6 national average after the first six nights, and NBC is winning every night in prime time.
Silver
Speedo's LZR Racer
A lot has been written about the success of Speedo's new swimsuit, but they continue to shine every night in Beijing. The better news is that there's been little talk about swimsuits as "technological" doping, or about the Tyr lawsuits. All of that's keeping the focus on the swimmers in the pool.
Bronze
BOCOG EVP Wang Wei
Throughout the run-up to the Olympics, the torch relay protests and the questions about air quality, BOCOG Executive Vice President Wang Wei has kept his cool. But yesterday he began to crack, criticizing international media for coming to China to find something wrong. While he may have a point, he's not helping himself and things could get ugly fast if he remains combative.
Tin
Ticket sales
Beach volleyball was half-full yesterday. Wrestling was largely empty for the evening session. And table tennis, a favorite in China, had only a third of the stands full last night. What happened to the first "sold-out" Olympics? Many international Olympic fans stayed home this summer because there were no tickets available. Now they're looking at the TV in disappointment. Was all of the boasting about a "sold-out" Games just spin? -
Beijing's Olympic Green Finally Buzzing With Activity
The combination today of blue skies, the opening of the “Bird’s Nest” for track and field, and coupons providing access to the Olympic Green triggered one of the busiest days the area has seen to date.
Sponsors, some of whom had complained about light foot traffic at the massive pavilions showcasing their brands, saw a significant increase in visitors. They credited the factors above, as well as the word-of-mouth buzz generated by their pavilions over the course of the week. Read More > -
Empty Seats For “Sold-Out” Events Remain Baffling
As the first week of the Beijing Olympics concluded Friday, many seats remained empty in many venues, and it doesn’t appear to be the Athens problem of unused corporate-sponsor seats.
Many non-premium, nosebleed-type seats are going empty. That’s not unusual at Games, except that BOCOG announced in July that tickets to all Olympic events in Beijing were completely sold out. Read More > -
News Notes: Phelps’ Performance Boosts Speedo
With every record that falls in the pool, Speedo seems to benefit.
Over the course of the last week, the swimsuit manufacturer has seen record traffic on its Web site, and it has sold out jersey T-shirts it makes with Michael Phelps’ name on the back. The company is scrambling to get more jerseys made as Phelps prepares to go after his seventh gold medal. Read More > -
On The Ground: GWU Professor Lisa Delpy Neirotti
Today we continue our discussion with Lisa Delpy Neirotti, associate professor of tourism & sports management at George Washington University. Delpy Neirotti, who arrived in Beijing on Aug. 4, has been to 13 Olympic Games. This time around, she’s leading a group of 28 students to China from Aug. 4-24. She gave us her continuing experience of Beijing via e-mail yesterday. Read More >
