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Advertising at the London Olympics is set to be much lower than previous recent games after one of the world's biggest spenders said it would slash its spending.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the brewer of Budweiser, Beck's and Stella, has told US broadcaster NBC that it intends to spend only half what it spent on the Beijing Games on TV advertising for the London Games and next year's winter games in Vancouver.
The brewer said it would give up its rights as the sole beer advertiser for NBC's coverage of both games opening the door to rivals like MillerCoors to grab some of the slots, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP is reported to have lost out to rival US advertising agency McCann Erickson in the battle to handle the advertising, public relations and marketing of London 2012. It is said to be paying around £10 million in “services in kind” to be an official sponsor of the Games — much less than the £50 million forked out by “official partners” such as BT and Lloyds Banking Group.
