The Wall Street Journal-20080214-Darfur Issue May Entangle Beijing Olympics Sponsors

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Darfur Issue May Entangle Beijing Olympics Sponsors

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This summer's Olympic Games are six months away, but activists trying to end Sudan's attacks in Darfur have already scored one victory related to the Games and they are looking for more. That could put pressure on Olympic corporate sponsors to respond in some way.

On Tuesday, movie director Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic adviser for the Beijing Games' opening and closing ceremonies, citing China's ties to the Sudan government. Meanwhile, athletes are becoming central to the coalition of celebrities and human-rights activists trying to capture the Olympic spotlight to protest Darfur. In the last month alone, more than 50 athletes have joined Team Darfur, an organization of past and present Olympians who have pledged to use the Games to highlight what they see as genocide in Darfur. Many of the group's 235 members train while wearing Team Darfur's trademark red, green and black sweatbands.

Branding specialists say that if enough athletes and other activists band together and put pressure on advertisers and sponsors, marketers could begin to rethink their commitments. "If Steven Spielberg has put this on the front burner and turned the heat up, there could be a ripple effect for sponsors," says Rita Rodriguez, chief executive of Brand Union in the U.S., a branding firm owned by WPP Group PLC.

So far, major U.S. companies including General Motors Corp., McDonald's Corp and Eastman Kodak Co. say they aren't altering their marketing plans at the Games because of the Darfur backlash. "The political issues relating to the Beijing Summer Games haven't changed our plans," says Ryndee Carney, a spokeswoman for GM. The car maker will "continue to monitor the situation and react if we think we need to," she adds.

But there is a sense among some marketers and media buyers that the Darfur issue isn't about to die down and that Olympic marketers will be forced to deal with it in one way or another. At least one major public-relations firm was busy yesterday providing advice to Olympic sponsors and advertisers. While the firm was telling marketers to "keep quiet" on the issue if at all possible, it was also advising them to develop a position on Darfur. One executive at the firm says he is likely to tell marketers to also pay attention to internal dynamics at their companies, including employee opinions.

China is under pressure over Darfur because it has large investments in Sudan and activists believe it should do more to persuade Sudan to end the attacks in Darfur. The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, or Bocog, haven't commented on the Darfur issue or Mr. Spielberg's resignation. (State-controlled Chinese media, waiting for a statement from Beijing, have also largely ignored the news.) In the past, Bocog has condemned efforts to connect political causes with the Games.

For companies, the attraction of being an Olympic sponsor is great. The opening ceremonies are expected to be the first TV sporting event watched live around the world by more than a billion people. In addition, multinational brands are using the event as an opportunity to build credibility with the booming Chinese consumer market, which is playing an increasingly important role in their global sales.

There are various ways to market at the Olympics, from spending several million dollars on ad time during the broadcast to paying hundreds of millions for multiyear sponsorships of the entire event. Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald's are among those sponsoring the International Olympic Committee world-wide, which is the most high- profile marketing opportunity. GM struck a deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1997 that gives it ad time during broadcasts in the U.S. and the right to use the Olympic rings in GM ads. The value of the 10- year deal was estimated at as much as $1 billion.

Political activists say that with athletes and now Mr. Spielberg on their side, they're already making corporate sponsors their next target. Last November, the New York-based activist group Olympic Dream for Darfur released a report grading 19 Olympic corporate sponsors on their attempts to influence the Chinese government. It gave passing grades to only a few. Now it is planning a series of protests at the headquarters of Olympic sponsors and encouraging supporters to turn off the TV during their ads.

The athletes play a more complicated role in the Darfur movement than celebrities or political activists. When athletes act like activists, it can come with some serious costs and compromises. After spending much of their lives training for the Games, Olympians can't easily pull out of them. But former UCLA water-polo player Brad Greiner, a creator of Team Darfur, says that won't be necessary. "We are not advocating a boycott at all," he says. "We think that the athletes have the most power if they are in Beijing speaking."

It's also difficult for athletes to put pressure on corporate Olympic sponsors because many of them rely on the sponsors to pay for their training and expenses. Some high-level athletes have been on the fence about joining Team Darfur, says Mr. Greiner, partially out of concern for their endorsements.

Last week, the British Olympic Association said it would forbid its athletes from speaking about politically sensitive issues in Beijing. After an uproar ensued, the association earlier this week said it would review the policy. Belgium and New Zealand have had similar controversies.

So far, the U.S. team hasn't employed such language in its contracts, say the athletes. Nonetheless, Section 51 of the Olympic Charter, which applies to all participants, says: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

At the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos were kicked off the team after standing on the podium with their fists -- clad in black gloves -- pointed to the sky, in a statement of solidarity with the civil rights movement.

Jennie Finch, star pitcher for the U.S. softball team, is one of the most high-profile members of Team Darfur. She joined the movement about a month and a half ago at the suggestion of a teammate, but hasn't yet told her sponsors, which include Bank of America, glove and bat maker Mizuno and Bolle sunglasses. "We all have personal opinions, so I'm confident that they'll be behind me 100%," she says. "They're not sponsoring my decision to join Team Darfur. They're sponsoring me for the athlete I am and the person I am."

Ms. Finch, who is taking part in her second Olympics, says she isn't planning to take up the cause publicly once the Games begin. "I think once I'm there playing, my main priority will be to bring home the gold. But I think we can use the platform of being an Olympian to raise awareness" of Darfur.

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Rebecca Blumenstein contributed to this article