By the time the Olympics begin m Atlanta this summer, the
business world will have spent more than $1 billion to link their names and
products to the Olympic Games. There are 10 Worldwide Sponsors, 10 Centennial
Olympic Partners, about 20 regular sponsors and more than a hundred licensees.
The Atlanta Games will boast an "official" scouring pad and timepiece, two
official game shows, and three official vehicles: a family car, an import
minivan and a luxury sedan. But what exactly do these companies
reap for their huge investment At the very least, they command tickets to the
most popular events, invitations to the best parties and prime hotel rooms. But
most of all, according to US Postal Service, it is purchasing the right to spend
money. And the right to spend money is expensive. The biggest
backers, Olympic sponsors like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Mcdonald’s and Xerox,
commit up to $ 40 million. But, getting the rights to the Olympic rings is only
half the battle. The other half is the challenge to sort of wrap their product
brands around that image. Often that means TV time. And at roughly $400000 per
30-second spot, some of the biggest sponsors have already locked up every
commercial slot in their product categories that NBC has to sell. Not everyone
is convinced that the Games are worth the price of business admission. The
biggest and most conspicuous naysayer is Nike, Its spokesman, says: "If I see a
Reebok official who may not be in the best shape firing the starting pistol and
Carl Lewis wearing Nike shoes, I’m going to go with Carl because that’s the
authentic link." Nike’s strategy is hard to argue with—instead of sponsoring the
Olympics, it sponsors Olympians. Advertisement, it’s another
Olympic event. Even for the biggest backers, getting the rights to the Olympic rings is ______.