Sponsors pull out of Brazil’s Copa America on reputation fears

Three major corporate sponsors have pulled their brands from the Copa America soccer tournament in Brazil, where the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging.

It follows news that corporate sponsors of the forthcoming Tokyo Olympics have reportedly called in consultants to advise on brand association with the Games, which many have called into question because of the pandemic.

Copa America in the time of COVID

• Mastercard, Ambev and Diageo have all pulled out of the Brazilian competition, due to kick off on Sunday. While all three said their brands would not be displayed, Mastercard said it will remain a sponsor of the competition.

• Brazil, which has suffered over 480,000 deaths due to the pandemic, offered to host the regional tournament only last month following an announcement that co-hosts Argentina and Colombia were cancelling it. 

In Tokyo, brands hedge

• Meanwhile a number of Japanese companies have asked for research into whether association with the Games – an event that has generated more than $3 billion in sponsorship, could now damage their brands.
• With the Games now almost six weeks away, polling of the Japanese public has consistently shown their opposition to the Games going ahead – although that opposition is falling as the country’s vaccination programme has gathered pace: around 80% were opposed a month ago, with a more recent poll showing opposition had fallen to 62%.
• The decision whether or not to go ahead with sponsorship for many is said to be so finely balanced that some companies created two campaigns, planning which to use at the very last moment.

Key quote

“They are waiting to see if the opposition to the Games begins to fall, because if it doesn’t, they are concerned that these Games could actually hurt their brands. Meanwhile, most of the campaigns have gone full stop when you would expect them to be ramping up” – Advertising executive working with one Olympic sponsor

Sourced from the Financial Times