Multinationals kick off Olympic ad bonanza

<p>BEIJING: Nike, PCCW, Coca-Cola and McDonalds are among the first </p><p>companies to piggyback on Beijing's successful Olympic bid in their </p><p>advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Their campaigns mark the beginning of the expected surge in marketing </p><p>activity in the long lead-up to the games. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Coca-Cola produced a new gold can to mark the win, distributing it to </p><p>retailers around the PRC within hours of the announcement. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>McDonalds used the cans as part of a special Olympic meal, sold for </p><p>RMB20.08 (US$2.43), the price referring to 2008, when the games </p><p>will be staged. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The promotion was advertised with a poster campaign featuring the number </p><p>"2008" written upside down, signifying in Chinese that the Olympics were </p><p>on their way to China in that year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Hong Kong's telecommunications provider PCCW's "Dreams of 1.2 Billion" </p><p>TV campaign, by McCann Erickson Guangming, positioned the company as </p><p>sharing Beijing's Olympic dream. PCCW's campaign appeared on CNN, CNBC </p><p>and the Discovery Channel thoughout Asia, Europe and North America. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Nike created a poster campaign, featuring an image of Mao Tse Tung </p><p>smiling. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Olympic marketing rollercoaster started with a textbook piece of </p><p>communications - the Beijing bid itself. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The city won by a landslide, polling 56 votes, against 22 for its </p><p>nearest rival Toronto, despite widespread reservations from </p><p>International Olympic Committee members about human rights and democracy </p><p>issues such as China's treatment of Falun Gong members and Tibet. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ad agencies predicted that the campaigns are the start of an advertising </p><p>and branding frenzy that will grow the Chinese market, injecting more </p><p>sophistication into it. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Multinationals will be training their full armoury of branding weapons </p><p>on the Chinese consumer, with General Motors reported to have signed up </p><p>as the first official sponsor of the games. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>They will also allow local category leaders to strengthen their </p><p>positions, said John Woodward, regional planning director of Leo </p><p>Burnett, which produced the Coca-Cola and McDonald's work. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In the past, the Olympics has tended to offer an opportunity for strong </p><p>local brands to cement a dominance locally, and become regional and </p><p>global brands," said Woodward. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It happened with the Seoul Olympics, with companies like Samsung and </p><p>the country's reputation for technological excellence. There's an </p><p>opportunity for the fledgling leaders of fragmented categories in China </p><p>to solidify their advantage. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The challenge for local brands is to learn how to be an Olympic </p><p>sponsor. Everybody will do it - there will be 500 brands that will </p><p>manage to be associated with the games in some way. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"People will become really bored, and brands will have to show that they </p><p>add something, rather than just putting their name next to the games." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>