But the untroubled front may conceal deeper concerns of a PR catastrophe as the event draws nearer and the government maintains its passive stance towards the atrocities supported by its counterpart in Sudan.
Spielberg, who refrained from signing an agreement with the Chinese authorities when he agreed to assist in staging the Games, recently stated that his conscience prevented him from further participation in his capacity as a consultant due to the Chinese Government’s reluctance to exert its full influence on Khartoum to halt human rights abuses in Darfur.
Spielberg’s decision sends a negative message to Games sponsors, which include Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, adidas, and McDonald’s. But a spokesperson for Coca-Cola said it was a decision between Spielberg and the Beijing Games Organising Committee. An industry observer conceded that there was “a pretty significant difference between an individual and a business brand”, but noted that a group of sponsors - believed to include Johnson & Johnson and GE - were nonetheless concerned about the implications of their association with the event.
“Sponsors are talking to each other,” the source said. “They are looking for mutual ways to manage issues around a very large investment they have made and ensuring they are doing if not what is morally right, then what is corporately acceptable.”
Human rights organisation Dream for Darfur recently announced via a press release its intention to stage protests at corporate headquarters and boycott advertising during the Games, while distributing email addresses of corporate responsibility executives at several sponsor companies and encouraging questioning of company ethics.
“(The sponsors) will be sitting down and asking where are the potential flashpoints, and how can we distribute the impact,” said the source.
All sponsors contacted by Media, including adidas, Lenovo and McDonald’s, have chosen to remain silent on the situation. Scott Kronick, president of Ogilvy Public Relations in China, which represents several sponsors, said that while negative association would remain a risk, the focus of the Olympics should be a sporting celebration rather than international politics. “In a world so interconnected and so interdependent, it is probably impossible to deal with any country without risk to your reputation,” he said. “But those competing in the Olympic Games, and those supporting them, merely hope that for 17 days the world might only focus on the great tradition of excellence and sportsmanship in competition.”
Another observer added that the sponsors’ focus would be on gaining accelerated access to the Chinese market, rather than appeasing the rest of the world.
