10 London Summer Olympics Brands You Can't Escape

BP(BP)
This has to be a better sponsorship outing for BP than its 2010 World Cup spin. That summer, BP had to spend its time in South Africa hiding behind its Castrol brand as millions of gallons of its fuel spewed into the Gulf of Mexico. There's some real estate between the company and the Deepwater Horizon disaster, but apparently not enough for it to mention oil in Olympic ads featuring athletes sprinting through the company's pitch about reducing its carbon footprint and using "energy grasses." There will be gymnastics floor routines that don't feature as many awkward contortions as BP makes in its ad.

Coca-Cola(KO)
No, you don't see relay runners or cyclists grabbing for a Cherry Coke along their route or belching their way across the finish line. You know that, we know that, everybody knows that. Maybe Coke's presence at the games is just as much a reminder of obesity as McDonald's Golden Arches, but Mark Ronson's not hearing any of that. The DJ and engineering phenom behind Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Wale and others decided to set London to a beat and Coca-Cola's giving you plebes the privilege of listening to it. What's the problem? London's moving to that beat, so it's working off that two-liter of Coke it just downed. In the meantime, you get the beats, athletes and orchestrated crowd responses Coke thinks you love. You're welcome.

-- Written by Jason Notte in Boston.

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