Olympic Sponsors Wary Of Flag-Waving Themes

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With the Summer Olympics in Athens barely a month away, advertisers, athletes, NBC and the U.S. Olympic Committee are still trying to resolve concerns over drugs, security and global politics. And with relations between the U.S. and much of the world strained, sponsors of the Games are changing their tune this time around, tempering their patriotic tones.

Marketing efforts this year favor a more unifying and less controversial theme: rallying behind American athletes.

“The Olympics are popular all over the world because they evoke a sense of patriotism among consumers and viewers within certain countries,” said John Osborn, president and CEO of BBDO, New York, whose Visa client is the official credit card of the Games.



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