http://www.cbc.ca/news/big-olympic-sponsors-tread-softly-around-russia-s-anti-gay-law-1.2526092

Often in the Olympics, hundreds of millions of dollars are poured into marketing and sponsorship by large, multi-national corporations. Though, this year in Sochi, quite an interesting ethical dilemma came up.  Recently, Russia passed a law making it illegal to spread propaganda of non-traditional forms of sex to minors. On the surface, this may seem harmless– but, in reality, it is quite the contrary. This law further perpetuates the homophobic mentality in Russia. Since the passing of this law, the amount of homophobic-induced has both escalated in numbers and in severity.

So, how does this tie back into marketing? This matter leads directly back to company vision, mission, ethics,  philosophy, brand image, and cultural differences in marketing. Gay rights activists from across the world have lobbied large corporations to use their power to condemn the passing of this law and against the unfair treatment of homosexuals in Russia. So, what should these large corporations such as Coca Cola and McDonalds do? On one hand,  these corporations can speak up in opposition of these discriminative laws; on the other hand, these corporations can choose remain silent. Though, before the best course of action may be deduced, many factors must be considered. For one thing, the company’s set of values is very important: companies should act in accordance with the company philosophy and vision. Another important consideration is how will a company’s actions(or lack thereof) effect their consumers in the varying parts of the world, as each country has a very different cultural and social background. And, lastly, do these large corporations have any obligation to use their power and leverage to drive social change?

The Super Bowl, traditionally known as the annual championship football game which pulls in millions and millions viewers from all across the world, has evolved into something very different in the recent years. Not only is it a battleground for two of the top opposing football teams in the US, but it is also a grand stage for multi-billion dollar corporations to showcase their advertisements.

It is reported to cost in excess of 4 million dollars for a 30 second time slot on the Superbowl commercial lineup– oh, and this doesn’t even include the costs for production yet! It is expected that the superbowl will attract 108 million viewers in the US this coming yeah; however, this number does not include the international presence, nor does it include the million of views expected online either. Through a new poll by Harris/Decima, it has been reported that Canadians have more interest in the advertisements than the football game itself, and that a large proportion of Canadians will be going online after the show to watch the advertisements.

Interestingly enough, TV advertisements are usually considered to be a nuisance that viewers would tune out, or flip the channel to avoid– but, in the case of the Superbowl, not only do the advertisements have the full attention of the viewers, people are willing to go out of their ways to watch these advertisements. With the takeoff of social media in the recent years, these Superbowl ads are bound to be shared, which will give it a even longer, lasting impact. Pretty soon enough, it seems that the 40 million dollar investment to have an advertisement aired during the Superbowl seems  like a small sum of money for the profound, rippling effects.

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/02/02/super-bowl-2014-canadians-prefer-ads-to-game-survey-suggests/