Expect more product placement at Olympics, says IOC [Video]

The Olympics is set to feature more and more high-profile product placement in a major departure from the past when brands were kept away from the sport, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Wednesday.

The Paris Olympics, which wrap up on Sunday, have been notable for the prominent branding opportunities given to French luxury giant LVMH and phone maker Samsung.

“It’s really the direction we want to go in,” Anne-Sophie Voumard, managing director for television and marketing at the IOC, told reporters on Wednesday.

“We want to remain very, very unique in the sense that we are a property where there is no (advertising) visibility on the field of play.

“But we want to work with our partners to enable them to integrate their products in the most organic way into the delivery of the Games… It’s a conscious and desired direction and we will have changes in the next …