Marketing and all things related

Advertisers are ready, so get pumped for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The US Olympic Committee just announced the official first round of 36 sponsors and 33 licensees (others will join over time.) According to the committee, US corporations are responsible for more than 85% of the the USOC’s 2006 budget. NBC Sports owns exclusive media rights to the Olympic Games through 2012. This seemed like a good idea before the almost breakeven winter games in Torino. A PDF with the confirmed sponsors is available for your review. We knew we could count on the usual suspects including Coca-Cola Anheuser-Busch, Ford, GE, McDonald’s, Visa, Nike and—ah—Jon Hair Studio, which is listed under the category Sculpture. We are not exactly sure what this means—but hey—we are just a marketing pundit. Thank Brandweek for the stoking the Olympic spirit.