The Commercial Games
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The Commercial Games How Commercialism is Overrunning the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 2008 This report is a joint project of Multinational Monitor magazine and Commercial Alert. Multinational Monitor is a bimonthly magazine reporting critically on the activities of multinational corporations <www.multinationalmonitor.org>. Commercial Alert is an advocacy group that aims to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere <www.commercialalert.org>. The report was compiled and written by Jennifer Wedekind, Robert Weissman and Ben DeGrasse. Multinational Monitor Commercial Alert PO Box 19405 PO Box 19002 Washington, DC 20036 Washington, DC 20036 www.multinationalmonitor.org www.commercialalert.org The Commercial Games How Commercialism is Overrunning the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Multinational Monitor and Commercial Alert Washington, DC August 2008 Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………..……………………………….. page 7 The Commercial Games…………………………..……………………………... page 11 Appendix 1……………………………………..………………………………… page 31 The Olympic Partner (TOP) Sponsors Appendix 2…………………………………...………........................................... page 41 The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (BOCOG) Sponsors International Federation Sponsors National Organizing Committee Sponsors National Governing Body Sponsors The Commercial Games 7 The Commercial Games How Commercialism is Overrunning the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Executive Summary 1. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Everywhere else, Olympic spectators, have been referred to as the “People’s viewers and athletes, and the citizens of Games,” the “High Tech Games” and Beijing, should expect to be the “Green Games,” but they could be as overwhelmed with Olympic-related aptly described as the Commercial advertising. Games. A record 63 companies have become The Olympics have auctioned off sponsors or partners of the Beijing virtually every aspect of the Games to Olympics, and Olympic-related the highest bidder. In addition to advertising in China alone could reach multimillion dollar sponsorship deals $4 billion to $6 billion this year, between the International Olympic according to CSM, a Beijing marketing Committee and international companies, research firm. smaller firms are paying for designations from “official home and industrial The Olympic Partners (TOP) program, flooring supplier” to the “frozen run and managed by the International dumplings exclusive supplier” of the Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1985, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. includes 12 companies for the Beijing Olympics. These 12 companies have Corporate sponsors are showering paid $866 million to the International money on each tier of the Olympic Olympic Committee. organizational committees: the International Olympic Committee, the The U.S. Olympic system is awash in Beijing Organizing Committee of the corporate sponsor money. Well over 100 Olympic Games and the International corporations are sponsoring the U.S. Federations governing each individual Olympic Committee or U.S. national sport, to each country’s National teams. Organizing Committees. Corporations are sponsoring many Olympic teams and 2. Commercialism is overrunning the national governing bodies for particular Olympics. It is undermining the sports -- including virtually every professed ideals of the Olympic Games, national governing body in the United and subverting the Olympics' veneration States -- and individual athletes of sport with omnipresent commercial themselves. messaging and branding. The excessive commercial encroachment on the To its credit, the Olympics do prohibit Olympic Games contradict the Olympic advertising in sports stadia or other Charter's stated objective of a pure blend venues. The Olympics also prohibit of sport, culture and education. advertisements on uniforms (other than uniform maker logos). The overwhelming cultural influence at the Olympics is now commercial culture; and the overwhelming The Commercial Games 8 informational message is are: buy, buy, tequila maker, Jose Cuervo, is a sponsor buy. Sports, of course, remain at the of the U.S. Soccer Federation -- a center of the Olympics, but sponsorship that transgresses the IOC's commercialism has overwhelmed rules, which apparently do not apply to a whatever other values the Olympics national governing body. hope to embody. The volume of commercial messages drowns out any 6. Notwithstanding the fundamental competing narratives apart from sports. principles of "Olympism," which celebrate healthful living, two of the 12 3. Exclusive marketing arrangements for Olympic TOP sponsors run businesses TOP Olympic partners in some cases centered around the sales of unhealthy improperly force Olympic spectators to food: Coca-Cola and McDonald's. purchase or use products from Snickers, the candy bar made by Mars, is companies granted an artificial an official BOCOG supplier. Hershey's monopoly by the Olympics. is a sponsor of the USOC. Coca-Cola is a sponsor of FIFA, the international 4. In at least one notable case, soccer federation. McDonald's and commercial entanglements have called Sprite are sponsors of USA Basketball. into question the integrity of a national McDonald's and Sierra Mist are sponsors sports governing body. A lawsuit and of the U.S. Soccer Federation. Coca- accusations around the activities of USA Cola is a sponsor of USA Softball. Swimming and the national team coach - Hershey's is a sponsor of USA Track & - both sponsored by swimwear maker Field. Speedo -- charge Speedo, the national team and the coach with antitrust 7. Because sports apparel and equipment violations. The lawsuit, filed by Tyr, a makers are uniquely connected to the Speedo competitor, charges the coach various Olympic bodies by virtue of has trumpeted the benefits of LZR their equipping of Olympic athletes and Racer, a new, high-profile Speedo suit, supplying the equipment used for because of his financial ties to the Olympic contests, official Olympic company. Tyr says its Tracer Rise bodies should pay special care to the swimsuit, introduced weeks before the suppliers with which they enter LZR Racer, is comparable to the Speedo sponsorship arrangements. product. Labor rights advocates have documented 5. The International Olympic Committee deplorable conditions in many of the will not partner with hard liquor suppliers partnered with the Olympics companies, but the IOC tolerates and official Olympic bodies, among sponsorships by beer and wine them Adidas, Nike and Speedo. companies. There are three beer company partners for the Beijing In a very disturbing development just Olympic Committee: Anheuser-Busch, before the start of the Olympics, Adidas Tsingtao and Yanjing Beer. reportedly announced it was transferring large amounts of its production out of Anheuser-Busch says it is a sponsor of China because wages set by the 25 national Olympic Committees. A government were “too high.” The Commercial Games 9 8. At least two major Olympic partners, does not reflect a prohibitionist impulse. the China National Petroleum It merely extends the insight in the Corporation (CNPC) and Sinopec, have present IOC ban on hard liquor been linked to gross human rights sponsorships: promoting more alcohol violations in Sudan. Both companies are consumption is unhealthful, and sponsors of the Beijing Organizing inappropriate for an event with Committee of the Olympic Games. enormous appeal to children. 9. There is no doubt that the horse is out • End partnerships and sponsorship of the barn on Olympic sponsorships, arrangements with junk food, soda and and the world is unlikely to see a fast food companies. These companies' commercial-free Games anytime soon. operations are incompatible with Olympic ideals of promoting fitness and Nonetheless, the most egregious healthful living, and the companies use problems with the Olympics' pervasive the association with the Olympics to sponsorship arrangements can and remove some of the tarnish of their should be addressed. At minimum, the unhealthy products. IOC, National Olympic Committees, and international and national sports • Insist that official, sponsoring apparel governing bodies should: and equipment makers disclose where their products are manufactured, and • Undertake a comprehensive ensure that their products are examination of the scope of corporate manufactured in a fashion that respects sponsorships, with the objective of core labor standards. scaling back their overall number. The Olympic ideals of promoting authentic • Refuse to enter into sponsorship culture and education have been arrangements with companies connected drowned beneath a sea of sponsorship to gross human rights abuses. This is a and marketing arrangements. simple ethical standard, and one required by the Olympic commitment to • End "exclusive marketing" demonstrate "respect for universal arrangements with sponsors that impose fundamental ethical principles." artificial monopolies on Olympic spectators. • Develop safeguards to ensure apparel and equipment sponsorships do not compromise sports governing bodies' decisions. Coaches of national teams should be prohibited from serving as paid spokespeople or consultants for apparel and equipment makers. • Refuse to accept sponsorships from any alcohol company, including beer and wine companies. This recommendation The Commercial Games 10 The Commercial Games 11 Overview notable case, commercial entanglements have called into question the integrity of The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games have a national sports governing body. The been referred