Seventh in a series

Staff writer

NAGANO -- At the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics, when the torch relay was first adopted, some sensed an ominous political meaning to the event, seeing the flame as more representative of a firebrand than a symbol of cross-cultural unity.

But now the relay is generally regarded in a positive light, with the baton handover symbolizing efforts to promote cooperation and peace. But from the mid-1980s, another feature has been added to the sacred flame -- advertising.

Since the epochal 1984 Los Angeles Games, the torch relay has been sponsored by companies. This marked the first time in Olympic history that the event's management used money from the private sector.

The world's top sporting event now depends on the mutual relationship between organizers capitalizing on the Olympics name and giant companies using the Games as a vehicle for their advertisements.

For the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, soft-drink giant Coca-Cola Co., which has sponsored relays in the past three Games, paid some 700 million yen for the right to feature the name of their coffee brand on the relay's official logo.

The logo was printed on the uniforms of the five runners who accompanied the torch bearer on each leg of the relay. In addition, the brand name was shown on official documents, staff windbreakers and flags distributed to roadside spectators.

Coca-Cola also obtained the rights to choose some 3,500 runners, more than half of those who participated in the Nagano Olympic torch relay program. "Through supporting the relay program, I hope that people come to think of our brand name when they want to drink canned coffee," said Minako Yago, a Coca-Cola public relations officer.

The Olympic charter says all rights to the Olympic symbol, flag and motto belong exclusively to the International Olympic Committee. According to the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee, not only words such as "Olympics" and "sacred flame," but also other words that have Olympic associations have restricted use. Even "torch," "snow and ice festival," and "peace festival" are cited as Olympics "intellectual property."

Sponsors can use such property on a commercial basis in return for securing funds for the operation of the Games. Contracts are formed with one company for any single product or service category, giving such firms the right to use the five-ring Olympic logo, the mascot character and the words "Nagano Olympics" in their advertisements.

For the 1998 Winter Olympics, Coca-Cola is the official drink and McDonald's the official restaurant. There are 37 sponsors for the Games, supporting 27 percent of the 103 billion yen in operating costs. "It is true that we can't hold the Olympics without sponsors," NAOC media director Ko Yamaguchi said. "So it is important to protect sponsors' rights."

But not all people are familiar with the rules.

Last month, Japan Railway officials were forced to take down a large sign at JR Nagano Station that said "Welcome to Nagano" with a nicely painted torch illustration.

Shortly after the sign was put up, NAOC called the railway to have it removed, claiming the illustration infringed on the sponsor's exclusive rights. The station replaced the sign with one without a torch.