Olympics sponsors: Make a difference

All right, so here’s the deal. Do I need to explain that China is the bad guy? Do we have to remind people of Tiananmen Square? Or of what’s happening in Tibet? Or of slave wages? Or… well, you know the deal.

And yet, with the kind of logic only the International Olympic Committee can come up with, China gets to host the games. The IOC’s position is that the Olympic transcends politics, but that’s bull and we all know it. It’s a huge international forum. It’s a sign of prestige for the Chinese, and you can bet they’re going to bilk it for all it’s worth.

Although you probably don’t believe you can make a difference, you can. Prettily easily, in fact. You can send a message to the American companies pouring money into the games. And yes, they will hear it. If even a few dozen people write to them, they’ll know there are a lot more who feel the same way.

Believe me, they aren’t getting mail saying “I’m so glad you’re sponsoring the Olympics.” They hope that their advertising will improve their image, so I say we turn it around. Make it an embarrassment to be a sponsor. When a company promotes itself as “the official whatever of the 2008 Olympics,” let it be a signal to shop somewhere else.

More importantly, let these guys know what you think.

You don’t need to do much. Write a short note and snail-mail it — that’s by far the best way to get results. Contact info is below. That’s it. You don’t to get nasty or even long winded. Here, use this as a starting point (or heck, cut and paste it):

I just wanted you to know that I’m incredibly disappointed that you chose to sponsor the Olympics this year. Thanks for helping to support a tyrannical, repressive government in China. I’ll remember that next time I’m shopping for a ________.

You’ll get a form letter back, and maybe even a coupon. But you’ll have made a point. It’s an even better point if next time you’re shopping for, say, paper for your printer, you go to OfficeMax instead of Staples.

Here’s a list of the major American sponsors of the Beijing Olympics. Lazy? Cool. You can cut and paste this list into a Word doc, print it, then cut out the individual addresses and tape them to an envelope.)

The Coca-Cola Company
P.O. Box 1734
Atlanta, GA 30301

General Electric
General Electric Company (W2E)
3135 Easton Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06828

Johnson & Johnson
One Johnson & Johnson Plaza
Room WH 2133
New Brunswick, NJ 08933

Lenovo
1009 Think Place
Morrisville, NC 27560

Eastman Kodak Company
343 State St.
Rochester, NY 14650

John Hancock
200 Clarendon Street
Boston, MA 02116

Staples
500 Staples Drive
Framingham, MA 01702

Budweiser
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
One Busch Place
St. Louis, MO 63118

UPS
Corporate Headquarters
55 Glenlake Parkway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30328

Visa
P.O. Box 8999
San Francisco, CA 94128-8999

Samsung
105 Challenger Rd.
Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660-0511

Panasonic
One Panasonic Way
Secaucus, NJ 07094

McDonald’s
2111 McDonald’s Dr
Oak Brook, IL 60523