Editor's Comment: Olympic sponsors are media lightning rods

Call it coincidence, but a rising tide of bad press for Olympic sponsor brands threatens to overshadow this effort, just as we pass the Games' '100 days to go' milestone this week.

First came newspaper claims that Adidas Olympic kit is being made in sweatshop conditions. Then the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges weighed in, calling Olympics sponsorship by McDonald's and Coca-Cola 'most unhelpful' at the launch of its anti-obesity campaign.

The Academy's point is half-valid: it feels odd for fast food and fizzy drinks to be sponsoring the Olympics.

Such brands, set in the context of the Olympics, will always act as lightning rods. But they have the power to deflect some of the criticism, and we await the ads from McDonald's et al extolling the very real virtues of their multimillion-pound sponsorships.

Instead, the official restaurant provider to London 2012 this week unveiled a 'Mascotathon' Happy Meal promotion.

There are many stirring stories sponsors could tell, not least of how their involvement empowers athletes from the poorest nations to take to sport's biggest stage. Perhaps such activity is in the works. But in its absence, media grumbling about Olympics sponsors can only build a head of steam.

Noelle.McElhatton@haymarket.com

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk