P&G confirms global Olympic sponsorship

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 | By Rosie Baker

The sponsorship will cover the next five Olympic Games through until 2020.

The sponsorship deal has long been rumoured in trade and national press and was revealed today at press conference held by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

P&G says that because of the depth and breadth of its brand portfolio reaching four billion people worldwide, its partnership is the “most far reaching” Olympic sponsorship.

The P&G brands participating in the partnership include Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Always, Whisper, Crest, Pantene and Olay.

P&G’s portfolio of brands will sponsor athletes and national teams.

The company says it will leverage the IOC partnership “to deliver on its purpose-inspired growth strategy”.

P&G global marketing and brand building officer, Marc Pritchard says: “This is about much more than a sponsorship. For P&G, it’s about partnering with the IOC to make life better for athletes, moms and their families as we take the Olympic movement to our four billion consumers around the world that our brands already serve.”

IOC president Jacques Rogge says: “P&G’s global reach and consumer insight will be a real boost in our efforts to communicate the Olympic values to a worldwide audience and their financial support over the next decade will benefit the entire Olympic Movement including the athletes themselves.”

The sponsorship builds on P&G’s existing sponsorship deal with the US Olympic team, which it has held since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

It will also roll out globally the “Proud Sponsor of Moms” and “Thank You Mom” campaigns helping parents of youth Olympians with their travel and accommodation costs to attend the IOC’s Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August this year.

P&G will also produce a documentary series called “Raising an Olympian, The P&G Momumentary Project” which will be shown leading up to and during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

P&G joins other global sponsors for the London 2012 McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Samsung, Omega and Visa.

The fmcg company is thought to be gearing up for a major marketing campaign to promote the IOC sponsorship.