Olympic Sponsors Plan to Stay Put Despite Protests

Not everyone agrees that the protests during the torch run will not have lasting effects. Chinese security officers swatting away protesters to clear a path for the torch, coupled with previous memories of the thwarting of the Tibetan unrest, have created powerful images in the minds of those wary of Beijing's standing in the world community.

The White House, meanwhile, has indicated that President Bush may skip the opening ceremonies, which other international leaders may boycott, though he is expected to attend the games themselves.

"The more this happens, the less desirable it's going to be to be associated with the Olympics," says Ambar Rao, a marketing professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "Now you hear that (President) Bush may not go to the opening ceremony. It becomes a contentious situation as opposed to a great sporting event.

"I think that a lot of companies which would otherwise be delighted to go and get this sort of exposure will think twice," Rao added. "Some of them may actually cut back or cancel."

Allison Mooney, director of trends and research at Fleishman-Hillard, has been monitoring much of the unrest, including a slew of Websites on the Chinese mainland and around the globe, yet doubts that the impact will be felt through corporate Olympic sponsorship.

"China's just too big of an opportunity right now," Mooney says. "Corporations tend to shy away from picking sides in politics anyway."

NBC Chief Executive Jeff Zucker on Monday said advertisers are not shying away from getting their messages placed during the telecasts, with 75 percent of the ad time filled. Zucker also said ad prices are "incredibly strong" in the face of all the media coverage of the Chinese unrest. Olympic ads are expected to generate about $1 billion in revenue.

"The fact is the Olympics are a sporting event on the world stage," Zucker told Reuters. "It's not surprising that some would try to use that stage to further their own causes, and we understand that, but at the end of the day this is about the event and both the advertisers and our viewers understand that."

Few expect the China-Tibet situation to escalate into what happened in 1980, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and US President Jimmy Carter refused to send an American team to the Moscow games that year.

"I don't think it's like Afghanistan," says Jack Trout, of Trout & Partners in Old Greenwich, Conn. "This Tibet thing is nothing compared to what's going on in other places of the world. Sponsors are getting a little immune to this kind of stuff."

© 2008 CNBC.com

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