McDonald's Big in Beijing

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has
stunned the world with another
record performance. This time around
he won the 200-metre race in Beijing.




Bolt has made it known that he is a big fan of fast food. In fact, his prerace meals have consisted of Chicken McNuggets.

It has emerged from the Beijing Games, that a growing number of athletes have been plugging McDonald's in interviews.

U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte told NBC he'd eaten McDonald's "almost every meal" in Beijing, while American discus thrower Stephanie Brown Trafton and track athlete Billy Nelson have also mentioned the Golden Arches. And upon winning her second gold medal, British swimmer Rebecca Adlington declared: "I'm going to have McDonald's."

McDonald's has sponsorship deals with two Canadian athletes - diver Alexandre Despatie and sprint kayaker Karen Furneaux - but they do not include bonuses for mentioning the brand in interviews. Other Canadian athletes, however, have become unofficial spokespeople. After gymnast Kyle Shewfelt was eliminated, he drowned his sorrows at the restaurant: "What did I eat? A better question might be: What didn't I eat? I had my usual Big Mac."

Advertising experts say it's no accident. In fact, what is playing out in Beijing is instead the result of a savvy marketing strategy that began when McDonald's paid upwards of $70-million (U.S.) to become the official restaurant of the Summer Olympics. With that, it secured rights to install restaurants on the grounds in Beijing - including a massive facility in the heart of the athletes village.

Source: Globe and Mail