Athletes aren't the only ones competing at the London 2012 Summer Olympics — their sponsors are, too. Team Great Britain competitors have been asked to sign a contract they will wear the clothing and footwear of Adidas, a sponsor of the British Olympic Association, while moving about the Olympic Village and during medal ceremonies. Athletes can wear whatever brand of footwear they want during competition, of course, but it’s the rest of the time that is getting complicated.

But what about those British athletes who have endorsement deals with Adidas rival Nike? The Telegraph reports that some of their agents are saying their clients may have to accept any medals they receive barefoot in order to not step on anyone’s toes. Nike, for its part, isn’t backing down. "As far as we are concerned, our contracts with individual athletes are binding,” a Nike spokesperson told the Telegraph. “We are still in discussion on this point with the BOA."

Ricky Simms, the agent to Nike-sponsored British runner Mo Farah, at top, says he had thought that the medal podium wouldn’t be part of the agreement but then discovered this week it was.Continue reading...

Airbus faces order by European regulators for checks of all A380 jets.

Anheuser-Busch demonstrates new emphasis on sophisticated consumers in its advertising as Bud Light enlists Weego, the Super Bowl dog, to continue buzz.

Apple's iPhone reportedly squeezing carriers.

Buffalo Wild Wings rejoices that NFL season came off.

Chrysler sees no let-up in criticism of Eastwood ad as plot thickens.

Coca-Cola boosts marketing and branding investment as word comes that its Super Bowl livestream exceeded expectations.

Disney sells out Oscars advertising on ABC.Continue reading...

While the world’s best sprinters, hurdlers, and hammer throwers are fine-tuning themselves for this summer’s Olympic Games in London, there is a small army of big fluffy beasts that are doing the same.

But it’s for a totally different 100-meter race than the one that will find the world’s speediest man and woman wearing gold medals. This one is for charity mascots.Continue reading...

It used to be that publications kept their editorial and business sides as separate entities, also known as keeping "Church and State" separate in many a newsroom. With the way business and advertising has been evolving in recent years, though, some media outlets have found ways to find leverage a little content from its business relationships.

Sunglasses brand Oakley and espnW, ESPN's female-centric sports news website that launched in Dec. 2010, have announced an “innovative new content collaboration focused on serving the female fan and celebrating female athletes,” which is already evident (see above) on the espnW website.Continue reading...

The idea of American wresting can too often bring up images of Andre the Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan. The other American wrestling has a few more participants involved (180,000 across the country) even if none of its participants are household names.

USA Wrestling, America's governing body for Olympic wrestling, is looking to help boost its image this year as it leads up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. According to a press release from the organization, a particular target is to help bring in new wrestlers. To help reach its goal, the organizing body prepared two different sets of marketing messaging for wrestling clubs across the country.Continue reading...

This summer’s Olympic Games in London have caught a lot of flak for having Dow Chemical as one of its big-bucks sponsors, since a subsidiary of the company had a gas leak in India back in 1984 that killed anywhere from 8,000 to 15,000 people. The whole thing has ruffled a lot of feathers and has even had some folks threatening to boycott.

The thing that really set protestors off is that Dow will sponsor a £7m ($9.2m) fabric wrap around one of the Olympic stadiums. A month ago, it looked like Dow was succumbing to the pressure and would agree to not have the wrap, but now it appears that the wrap is still on.

“It’s a little curious that [protesters] would select a wrap and say we just don’t want you to be on the stadium, but not address all of the other places that we are in the Olympic world,” George Hamilton, the vice president of Dow’s Olympic operations, told the Financial Times.

Folks in London likely imagined that the lead up to the Games would be a little more feel-good than this and showcase their leaders in a better light. One Brit has had enough of it.Continue reading...

The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius ("Faster, Higher, Stronger"), but perhaps the word “cheaper” should be added. Toy versions of the Olympic mascots Mandeville and Wenlock are being made at a Chinese subcontractor to British firm Golden Bear Toys, with the mainland China factor now being investigated for “poor pay and conditions.”

Telford, UK-based Golden Bear was given the toy contract back in 2010 and it is now investigating the allegations along with the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, the BBC notes. "We are a family-run business that takes these issues very seriously indeed and has in place certificates of compliance at all factories used to produce our products," Golden Bear Chairman John Hales said in statement to the BBC. "We are therefore in the process of conducting an immediate investigation and will be able to comment on these findings as soon as they are known to us.”

A London 2012 spokesman said that results of the investigations would be made public as soon as they are concluded, the BBC reports.Continue reading...

Having just extended its sponsorship as a top-tier Olympics partner through 2020, McDonald's is rolling out its London 2012 marketing plan for the Games, including introducing a #mcolympics hashtag on Twitter to talk up its ongoing commitment to the IOC, which started with the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.Continue reading...