• USA Today , Friday, June 20, 2008 10:15 AM

Marketers are cranking up for the Aug. 8 start of the Olympic Games in Beijing. A dozen -- including U.S. companies such as Coca-Cola, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak and Visa -- have spent about $40 million just to be top-level Games sponsors and will spend up to 10 times that to exploit the tie-in with ads, promotions and events in the U.S., China and other world markets.

Coke has a mix of three Olympic-theme packaging designs. Some incorporate foreign languages and some use Olympic athletes. Swimmer Natalie Coughlin, track athlete Sanya Richards and NBA star LeBron James are among six athletes who will be on packages and in TV ads.

The theme for McDonald's Olympic marketing is "Bringing People Together Like Never Before." The company already has an online alternate reality game -- The Lost Ring (www.thelostring.com). Two million players have registered in its first few weeks. Plans for Beijing include 1,400 global employees serving food and the hosting of 200 kids from 40 nations who won local McDonald's contests.

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