Bloomberg reports that corporate sponsors of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco are keeping a low profile following the recent protests against the Beijing 2008 Games.
Eli Portnoy, chief brand strategist at Portnoy Group, a brand-consulting firm based in Los Angeles said, “if I was marketing this I’d be scared to death”
Gerhard Heiberg, chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) marketing commission said relay sponsors Coca-Cola Co., Samsung Corp., and Lenova Group Ltd. hope to resume their public relations and promotion efforts in the coming days. He told a press conference in Beijing, “we’ll see how we’ll tackle the rest of the torch relay. The main part for the sponsors is the torch relay in China itself”.
Kelly Brooks, a spokesman for Coca-Cola, said the company doesn’t engage in political matters and still believes that the Olympics provide it with a great opportunity “to connect our brands with people all over the world”, reports Bloomberg.
Deirdre Latour, spokeswoman for General Electric Co., NBC network that televises the Olympic Games, said the issues raided by protesters are valid, though shouldn’t be used to politicize the Games. “We’re supportive of the movement overall, I don’t want to diminish the importance of the issues but they need to talk to the United Nations, the governments and groups that can really help them with their causes”.
Lenova spokeswoman Julie Gottlieb said the company “respects the rights of people to express themselves peaceably” while expecting authorities responsible for security to protect the relay participants”. She added, “we are disappointed by attempts to disrupt the relay. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for torchbearers to participate in such an historic event as the Olympic Torch Relay”.
