• Los Angeles Times , Tuesday, August 12, 2008 10:31 AM

Li Ning's athletic-wear company isn't an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, but when the former Olympic champion ascended on a high wire to the top of the Olympic stadium Friday to ignite the caldron, it was a magical finale to the dazzling opening ceremony and a marketing coup. The company chairman's stunt helped drive up Li Ning Co.'s stock 4% on Monday and left rival firms out in the cold. Adidas, for instance, has shelled out millions of dollars to be a sponsor of the Beijing Games.

Li Ning has long been one of China's leading sports brands, but it has lost ground in recent years to tough global rivals. But when CTR, a Beijing research firm, asked Chinese consumers if they would be more willing to buy products from companies with Olympic affiliations, they showed little recognition of who those companies were. In sportswear, 37% of respondents linked Li Ning to the Olympics, compared with 23% for Adidas and 18% for Nike, which isn't a sponsor either.

Adidas spokeswoman Katja Schreiber says her company has no hard feelings about Li's moment of glory. "We thought he really deserved it," she says, adding that the white-and-red sneakers that the 44-year-old wore during his midair run were unbranded.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »