The study, which is the result of a co-operation between the Washington-based Commercial Alert and Multinational Monitor - a company that tracks the activities of big corporations, argues that the marketing policies of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the various sports federations and national committees under its auspices, need to be re-examined.
‘The Commercial Games’ report states that such products conflict with the stated purpose of the Olympics, which they say is to "celebrate healthful living." Promoting such products in the widely watched Olympics, the study says, is "unhealthful," and particularly inappropriate "for an event with enormous appeal to children."
The study also criticises the IOC for what the groups believe is its lack of concern that some companies with marketing ties to the Games rely on so-called "sweatshops" that offer substandard wages and working conditions to produce goods. It specifically cited Nike and Adidas as companies that haven't taken effective steps to eliminate sweatshop conditions within their supply chains. In addition, study also criticises the IOC for awarding "monopolies" to sponsors such as Visa and Coke that limit spectator choices at the Games themselves. Only non-alcoholic beverages marketed by Coca-Cola are available at the Olympics, and Visa is the only credit card accepted there.
It concluded that the Olympics were overly-commercialised and recommended that the IOC scale back the overall number of sponsors.
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