Dr. Sabrina Segal

Move over American Idol, Coke is hanging with an old BFF - the Olympics. Coca Cola is the longest continuous sponsor of the Olympic Games, having started its alliance in 1928 at the Amsterdam Games.

The lead up to the 08-08-08 Games in Beijing, China launched on May 19th with multilingual and international collectible cans. The debut of the familiar Coca-Cola script in various languages will be introduced to the US market over the summer. Coke has said they will release new collectible designs every few weeks over the summer.

As a tie-in to the theme of “8” at the Games, Coke’s website will be themed “WE8” and feature a global collaboration of 8 visual artist and 8 progressive musicians who will create downloads and limited edition aluminum bottles. During the summer, the bottles hit the road and can be sampled at Simon Malls nationwide.

A Coca Cola six-pack will feature six Olympic athletes and hopefuls, including LeBron James. Look for them on in-store displays and commercials leading up the Opening Ceremonies on 8-8-08 at 8:08.

“Together, Coca Cola and the Olympic Games have shared and promoted the values of unity, optimism and inspiration for 80 years.”

The question now, is, do Coca Cola and the Olympic Games share in Chinese human rights violations and the fight for Tibetan Independence? In your opinion, has Coca Cola aligned itself with communism?

Photo Credit: Dr. Sabrina Segal