Costumes, Uniforms, and Medals All Produced by LVMH
"The Opening Ceremony Is Essentially a 3-Minute Luxury Advertisement"
The 2024 Paris Olympics has been engulfed in an 'advertising controversy.' Criticism has arisen that advertisements for sponsors of this Olympics, such as Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH) and Samsung Electronics products, were conducted in an excessively blatant manner.
The US 'New York Times (NYT)' reported on the 10th (local time) that other sponsors expressed dissatisfaction over the allocation of advertisements at this Olympics. The biggest sponsor among the Olympic sponsors was LVMH, the world's largest luxury goods company headquartered in France. They sponsored about $175 million, but the problem was that LVMH's product logos were exposed too frequently throughout the Olympic events.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, volunteers are showcasing medals from the luxury brand 'Chaumet,' stored in LVMH lockers, while wearing outfits designed by Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH). [Image source=LVMH official website]
From the Olympic medals to the podiums used for medal presentations, and even the production of the French uniforms, LVMH was overtly involved in this Olympics, NYT reported.
Moreover, LVMH received attention even during the opening ceremony. During the introduction of France's long-standing luxury industry history, the Louis Vuitton logo appeared, scenes of crafting Louis Vuitton luxury bags were shown, and dancers wearing costumes designed by LVMH also performed. NYT described this as "virtually a 3-minute LVMH advertisement."
They added, "This surprised several executives who have worked at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a long time," and "especially angered some other sponsors who have long cooperated with the IOC."
Samsung Electronics also became a topic of discussion. As an official partner, Samsung provided athletes with Galaxy Z Flip phones at every awards ceremony, during which the athletes staged what is called the 'victory selfie.' However, this was also criticized as an attempt to overly commercialize the Olympics.
Regarding this controversy, Anne-Sophie Boumaud, Director of Broadcasting and Marketing Services at the IOC, explained to the NYT, "We have been cooperating with sponsors in ways that help deliver and enhance the Olympic Games experience," adding, "The victory selfie is exactly such an example."
However, concerns and complaints from sponsors continue. A Panasonic Olympic marketing official told the media, "(The advertisement exposure by sponsors like LVMH) is a difficult issue," but also pointed out, "Unlike other sports events, the Olympics have been a clean event with minimal advertising exposure, but once this happens, it will become similar to other sports events."
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