LVMH, Samsung, and Coca-Cola have secured the sponsored placement of their products in previously ad-free parts of the Olympics, marking an unprecedented commercialisation by the Paris Games’ organisers.
Winning athletes have been presented with Samsung smartphones to take selfies, after they receive medals carried out on Louis Vuitton trays, while competitors from some countries carried gold-coloured bottles of a Coca-Cola water brand during the opening ceremony.
The prominent placement of sponsors’ brands is a first for the Olympics, where viewers of the events and ceremonies have previously been able to see very little or no commercial branding.