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The Olympics has long been a giant advertising platform on which official sponsors, who have paid dearly for the privilege hawk their product relentlessly.  On the outskirts of the Olympic Games and on TV surrounding the Games, but not on NBC or the comparable official channels around the world, the competing sponsors hawk similar products in campaigns that are usually just as lavish.  This year, Adidas and Nike are taking the competition to a whole new level.  Each company is unveiling new shoes to outfit a competitor in each sport, 28 in all,  being contested at the Beijing Games, (except that Adidas is skipping equestrian).  The reason for the elaborate competition this time is simple - China is the world's second largest consumer market and the largest untapped market.  Both companies have made large investments in China and see the Olympics as the single best opportunity to capture the next billion dollar market.  

Adidas, the official outfitter of the Chinese Olympic team, has just opened its largest store ever, in the heart of Beijing's commercial district.  Adidas is also the official shoe sponsor of the Olympic Games and is supplying more than 3,000 athletes.  Nike says its supplying thousands, which means it must be less than 3,000.  Nevertheless, Nike got to China and has already crossed the billion dollar mark in sales, a year ahead of schedule.  This battle, like the corporate battles being waged between this two elsewhere in the world, will mean a near constant presence on Chinese television for their shoes, and a battle over top Chinese athletes for endorsement contracts.  Expect Adidas to have an edge on the stars of the Olympics and for Nike to bid obscene sums to win them away - it's the Nike way.

For a look at a much different Olympics, read the new book Rome 1960,an engaging account of the Rome Olympics that featured some of the greatest American athletes ever, such as Muhammad Ali (then, Cassius Clay) Rafer Johnson and Wilma Rudolph (see, Rudolph in Adidas at Rome above) and a Games that was relatively untainted by commercialism. It was, however, contested in the shadows of the Cold War and the contest between East and West hung heavy over the Games.  Check it out - you won't be disappointed.

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