MILAN (AP) — Aileen Gu and all the other freestyle skiers waited at a large Powerade-brand cooler for their results before gliding away without a drink.
Blue sports drink bottles stacked in hockey penalty box. Even the tissues in figure skating’s dramatic “Kiss and Cry” area are branded.
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One of the things that makes the Olympics stand out is the lack of advertising on the courts, rinks and ski slopes. But at the Milan Cortina Games, more and more sponsors are getting involved.
“We will continue to offer these opportunities to our partners,” IOC marketing director Anne-Sophie Womade said on Wednesday, noting that sponsor products could now be more widely “presented organically.”
The change appears to be accelerating since French luxury goods maker LVMH prominently displayed its Louis Vuitton brand at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“There seems to be a growing need and desire from sponsors for the IOC to demonstrate greater value in the TOP program (for its largest partners),” Terrence Burns, who has worked in marketing at the Olympic body and advised sponsors and hosting bids, told The Associated Press.
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There is product placement on television, although it is still limited compared to most American sports. Spectators inside Olympic venues can hear announcers shouting and see signs on big screens.
This all comes as sponsors look for new opportunities for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The IOC hopes to create additional value in its TOP programme, which has brought financial success to the organization for four decades. Following Paris’ 15 top sponsors, Milan has 11 top sponsors. Cash and services revenue declined slightly to $560 million in 2025 compared to $871 million in 2024.
Watching a hockey game in an arena is different
To NHL fans accustomed to seeing sponsors on billboards, Olympic hockey games on television look clean and non-commercial. The venue is a little different.
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“That’s the Corona Cero wave!” roared one announcer, enlivening the non-alcoholic beer brand with fans waving around the pitch during a quiet afternoon game.
A car manufacturer was mentioned in the “Stellantis Freeze Cam” and a boxer was interviewed during half-time, all “thanks to Salomon”, a skiwear brand that signed a sponsorship deal with the Cortina organizing committee in Milan.
Burns believes that logos at the Olympics can boost the morale of sponsors, but their value is relatively small compared with the big events they usually launch in the year before the Olympics.
“I think it’s kind of psychologically ‘Attaboy’ to see your brand on a billboard somewhere during and around the Olympics,” Burns said. “I get it, but tell me how that helps you sell more stuff.”
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Long-term trends ahead of Los Angeles 2028
The Olympic Charter, the Games’ bylaws, states that any signs at Olympic venues must be approved “in exceptional circumstances,” but the IOC has gradually loosened its restrictions.
“The Olympic world is moving slowly, as it should be. This is a 3,000-year-old brand, so they have to be careful,” Burns said.
Just a decade ago, “clean venues” policies were so strict that IOC staff inspected hand dryers in venue bathrooms to make sure their manufacturer’s branding was covered with tape.
Tokyo 2021 has eased restrictions on athletes promoting personal sponsors on social media following a legal challenge in Germany.
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At the Paris Olympics, medals were delivered to the podium in Louis Vuitton-branded boxes, and athletes received a Samsung “Olympic Victory Selfie” phone, a new tradition that continued at the Cortina Games in Milan.
Vummar, the IOC’s marketing director, acknowledged the need to “be mindful of the uniqueness of those (Olympic) Games’ legacy and presentation.”
new opportunities
The Los Angeles Olympics will break new ground in sponsorship.
For the first time, the International Olympic Committee has approved the sale of naming rights to venues in a pilot project. The volleyball courts in Anaheim will retain the Honda Center name, and like NHL games, Comcast is putting its branding on the temporary racquetball arena.
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Until now, stadiums named after sponsors have had to use the Olympics’ generic names instead. In 2012, London’s O2 Arena became the North Greenwich Arena for basketball and gymnastics competitions, and a number of French football stadiums received new names in 2024.
Burns predicted the IOC may come under pressure from Los Angeles organizers to take further sponsor-friendly measures and may need to delay some requests to protect the Olympic brand.
“It’s not unreasonable that Los Angeles would follow what happened in Paris with Louis Vuitton and even Samsung on the podium,” Burns said.
“Their fiduciary duty is to try to make as much money as possible. So they will look for every opportunity to increase revenue from sponsors. That is the IOC’s role as the franchisor to protect that.”
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
