Olympic Sponsors Were Warned About Sochi; Now McDonald's and Coca-Cola Are Having a PR Nightmare; HuffingtonPost.com, 1/28/14

Michelangelo Signorile, HuffingtonPost.com; Olympic Sponsors Were Warned About Sochi; Now McDonald's and Coca-Cola Are Having a PR Nightmare:

"LGBT people are not having it anymore. And apparently American multinational corporations had not realized that. They can offer their nondiscrimination policies, domestic partnership benefits and sponsorship of Pride events in the U.S. as evidence that they care about LGBT rights, but that's no longer enough. With the Winter Olympics in Sochi, LGBT activists are making it clear that American companies can no longer get away with tacitly supporting foreign regimes that are brutalizing LGBT people. The backlash against such companies is probably only just beginning and will last long after Sochi."

Sponsors of Sochi Olympics find themselves drawn into battle over gay rights in Russia; New York Times via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/28/14

Stuart Elliott, New York Times via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Sponsors of Sochi Olympics find themselves drawn into battle over gay rights in Russia:

“We’re a brand that has always been about inclusion and diversity,” Katie Bayne, president for North America brands at the Coca-Cola North America unit of the Coca-Cola Co., said in a telephone interview Monday. “We’re convinced, as we talk about Coke standing for inclusion, it’s the best way to go.”...

“We are aware that some activists are targeting Olympic sponsors to voice their concerns regarding the Russia LGBT legislation,” the statement continued. “McDonald’s supports human rights, the spirit of the Olympics and all the athletes who’ve worked so hard to compete in the Games. We believe the Olympic Games should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and athletes.”

The activists do not seem mollified. On Twitter on Monday, Queer Nation NY expanded its efforts to appropriate #CheersToSochi to include sponsors like Procter & Gamble and Visa. The organization posted a photograph of Russian protesters being arrested with the comment “Use @Visa for your bail!”

Antonio Lucio, chief brand officer at Visa, said in a recent interview that Visa executives “support the highest ideals of the Olympic movement, which include inclusion.”"