Protests that cast the Olympic Games in a controversial light have done little to dampen the commitment of major sponsors of the Games, which have spent millions of dollars to associate themselves with the prestigious event.
Even the usually measured president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, acknowledged Thursday that the Games were facing a difficult test.
In city after city, demonstrators supporting Tibetan independence and help for Darfur have shadowed the torch’s progress. In Paris, the torch was put on a bus and scooted to safety. In San Francisco, it took a secret parade route, leaving demonstrators, counterdemonstrators and people who just wanted to watch wondering where it had gone.
“It’s a little disappointing,” said a spokeswoman for Lenovo, China’s top PC maker and a sponsor of the Games and torch relay. “But the important thing is our sponsorship strategy hasn’t changed. We’re still proud to play a role in spreading the values of the Olympic Games. At the same time, we support the right of people to express themselves peaceably.”
Brand awareness The company says it saw the sponsorship as a way to establish broad awareness of its brand. The Games and torch relay are among the world’s top advertising opportunities, and opponents of China’s role in Tibet and Darfur have piggybacked onto it to promote their causes.
The Olympics rely heavily on business sponsorships for funding.
“In the run-up to the Olympics, we have for years now envisioned this as window of opportunity seeking change from China, and it doesn’t seem to be happening,” said actor Mia Farrow, who is active with Dream for Darfur, an organization seeking change in China’s policy in Sudan. The group has met with Microsoft and other corporate Olympic supporters – Microsoft is a service provider – to ask them to pressure China, without much success.
Microsoft’s representatives “were compassionate and were distressed by the plight of people of Darfur,” Farrow said. “What they’re going do about it is another matter. We haven’t seen evidence they are willing to do anything, frankly.”
That’s not surprising, said Charisse Tabak, vice president of marketing technology firm Acceleration. Global corporations have vested interests in regions across the world and “want to remain agnostic” on polarizing issues, she said.
So far, the demonstrations are “a blip” for corporate sponsors, said brand consultant David Aaker, who watched the show Wednesday from his Embarcadero office at San Francisco brand strategy firm Prophet. “In the grand scheme of things, this is very minor.”
Effect on sponsors? Marketing expert Sergio Zyman of the Zyman Group agreed. “I just don’t think this is going to have any negative effect on the sponsorship of the Olympics,” he said. “I don’t think this thing has anything to do with the sponsors.”
The torch protests so far have not directly targeted the sponsors or suppliers such as Microsoft, but there are 15 more cities to go before the torch reaches Beijing.
Giovanni Vassallo of Bay Area Friends of Tibet said he suspects that pressure on sponsors will “pick up heat” in the coming weeks and months. A letter signed by 153 Tibetan organizations and Tibet support groups worldwide asks the three torch-relay sponsors to skip its planned stops in Tibet.
There are 64 Olympic sponsors and suppliers, many of them Chinese-owned. The Games’ dozen “top partners” include Coca-Cola, Visa, McDonald’s, Samsung, Panasonic and Lenovo.
Microsoft is supporting the Games as a software supplier and distributor of licensed Olympics coverage through its partnership with NBC Universal.
Coca-Cola, which has sponsored the Olympics since 1928, said in a statement that it remains “committed to supporting the Olympics movement and Olympic torch relay, which provide a unique opportunity to share values of unity, pride, optimism and inspiration with people all over the world.”
Samsung issued a statement saying in part that it looks forward to the rest of the relay.
Microsoft issued a statement supporting the Games and the IOC’s selection of China as the host. It went beyond what other sponsors have said about Darfur, but said nothing about China’s role and nothing about Tibet. The statement said in part:
“We are shocked and horrified by the violence and human rights violations in Darfur,” it said, commending Dream for Darfur “and other organizations for casting a spotlight on this atrocity and the need for immediate international resolution.”
Dream for Darfur has issued a report card for the top 12 sponsors, rating them on their efforts to understand the issue and commit resources to it. Most got an “F,” but Coca-Cola got a “D” and McDonald’s got a “C.” A second report card is due out soon, following a recent round of meetings with sponsors.
But for now, the groups aren’t saying awful things about the companies, and the companies are tip-toeing around the politics.
“Our real target is not the sponsors themselves,” said Vassallo of Bay Area Friends of Tibet. “I drink Coke. I like it. I just want to stop human rights abuse.”
Contact Pete Carey at pcarey@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5419.
