They're Loving It: McDonald's Extends IOC TOP Sponsorship Through '20

The IOC and McDonald's Friday announced the QSR has extended its TOP sponsorship agreement through '20. The announcement was made at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The deal includes sponsorship of all Olympic Games through ’20 as well as the Youth Olympic Games (IOC). Financial terms of the deal were unavailable. The AP’s Eric Willemsen noted McDonald’s has been an IOC sponsor since ’76 and became “the seventh top-tier sponsor to renew its partnership with the IOC through 2020 following Coca-Cola Co., Dow Chemical Co., General Electric Co., Omega, Proctor & Gamble Co. and Visa Inc.” The IOC has “11 global sponsors for the London Olympics.” McDonald’s Exec VP & Global Chief Brand Officer Kevin Newell said that the QSR “will use the extended partnership to introduce several new programs” (AP, 1/12). The IOC “does not want to see deals go past 2020 because it plans to review its sponsorship program beyond that date to take account of developments in technology” (REUTERS, 1/13).