Ireport the following news from Beijing because it has not been widely covered in the United States:
“Chanting the slogan ‘Wo jiu xihuan Zhongguo ying,’ which roughly translates to ‘I love it when China wins,’ over 1,200 young people selected from a nationwide campaign danced in unison for five minutes at the National Olympic Sports Center, setting a Guinness world record. The activity was intended to boost pre-Games enthusiasm.”
That was verbatim from a communiqué from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. It was McDonald’s that mobilized what it calls the “world’s largest cheering team” to do all that dancing and chanting.
That’s the frivolous, whimsical Olympic news, and it’s in sharp contrast to almost everything else that’s been reported. Coverage has centered on protests greeting the Olympic Torch as it traversed the world, on China’s crackdown in Tibet and its abysmal human-rights record, and on the decision by several world leaders to boycott the opening ceremonies.
Human-rights activists have criticized the worldwide brand sponsors of the Games for partnering with China, and there have been calls for consumers to boycott their products.
Actress Mia Farrow and others refer to the Games as the “Genocide Olympics” to spotlight China’s support of the Sudanese government and China’s refusal to use its influence to stop the genocide in Darfur.
The group Dream for Darfur, formed last year to encourage China to intercede as a peacemaker, blasted a number of Olympic sponsors for not taking any meaningful steps to help ease the strife there.
But the group, on its Olympic Corporate Sponsor Darfur Report Card, gave McDonald’s a passing grade and said there are no plans for protests against McDonald’s like those against other Olympic sponsors.
In light of all the protests and calls for boycotts, however, it’s not unreasonable for someone to believe that McDonald’s and the other sponsors could suffer a consumer backlash. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Many online stories report that the sponsors aren’t worried that consumers will turn on them. Most of the available TV ad space for the Games has been sold. None of the sponsors, including McDonald’s, plans to alter its Olympics strategy. But it appears that none of them will criticize China publicly because they’d face recriminations from the government.
A survey by Kelton Research showed that 25 percent of Americans are at least thinking about not watching the Olympics because of China’s human-rights record, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stop buying Big Macs.
One story said that some “educated” consumers might temporarily stop buying a sponsor’s product, but they’re far less numerous than the brand-loyal consumers who never have heard of Tibet or Darfur.
That’s why I’m betting that no matter what group calls for a protest or boycott, the worldwide Olympic sponsors won’t suffer significant damage. Far too few U.S. consumers care about world affairs. They’ll pay attention only to an “Entertainment Tonight” story about a Hollywood star traveling overseas to adopt another baby.
It’s just not possible to persuade enough U.S. consumers to make a boycott of McDonald’s and other sponsors successful. Millions of people would have to participate, and no activist group is capable of making that happen. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been calling for a boycott of KFC for years, yet the chain remains in business.
Concerned Americans were horrified when Tibetan monks were beaten and killed by Chinese forces, and they remain horrified by the continuing slaughter in Darfur.
But millions more don’t care, and as they try to stretch their dollars in a poor economy, they’ll happily dance in unison when McDonald’s rolls out its next value-priced product.
