Now that the Olympics have finally arrived, the focus of the world (or at least the UK) seems to be on the games and everything surrounding them. The official sponsors have spent a lot to market their brands. Many companies, including official sponsors, are deciding to cash out on the London 2012 Olympics with Olympic special edition merchandise. Coca Cola, Cadbury, and MINI are a few of the companies who have launched Olympic-themed merchandise.
Cadbury have launched Union Jack chocolate bars; these were launched before the Diamond Jubilee. In addition, they have also launched chocolate Olympic mascots and chocolate gold medals. Cadbury have also set up an exhibition in Hyde Park and in other areas of the UK to sell their product.
In addition, Coca Cola have been doing a lot of marketing around the Olympics and have hosted several concerts and events, including the torch relay events. Coca Cola have launched special edition torch relay bottles for those who attended the torch relay, and these were handed out for free around the country. In addition to the torch relay bottles, Selfridges are currently selling special edition gold bottles of Coca Cola to celebrate the Olympics. (These gold bottles can only be found at Selfridges.)
Another brand spending money on marketing for the Olympics is MINI. Last year, MINI launched a special edition Olympics MINI. The car comes in red, blue, and silver, and the seats have a red/white/blue trim on them. The car also has graphics in the form of small Union-Jack stripes and the Olympic logo on the roof. In addition, MINI have a float in the Thames near the Olympic park.
Also, MINI have been participating in the Olympics. Miniature radio-controlled MINI cars are participating in the games by delivering Olympic equipment (such as javelins) to the athletes during the game. Several MINIs are also being used for fire emergencies and are painted accordingly in yellow. A MINI was also used in the opening ceremony.
As mentioned for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in a previous post, many other products have used flags in their branding, such as Marks and Spencer (pictured below).
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