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The pinnacle of Olympic marketing is The Olympic Partners (TOP) program, run and managed by the IOC since 1985. This year, the TOP program included 12 companies, which are granted exclusive global marketing rights, including partnerships with the IOC, all National Organizing Committees and their Olympic teams, and the BOCOG. The 12 TOP companies were Atos Origin, a European-based information technology company; CocaCola; GE; Johnson & Johnson; Kodak; Lenovo, a computer manufacturer and the only Chinese company to be a TOP partner; Manulife, a Toronto-based insurance company; McDonald's; Omega; Panasonic; Samsung; and Visa.

From limited-edition Olympic-branded merchandise and Olympic-themed corporate social responsibility programs, to pavilion showcases in the Olympic Village, interactive online platforms and athlete blogs, each company worked to capture consumer attention and ensure tiffany and co earrings brand was associated with the ideals represented by the Olympic rings.

Companies paid the IOC approximately $70 million to become worldwide partners of the 2006 Turin and 2008 Beijing Olympics. The combined revenue from all 12 partners for the 2005-2008 cycle came to $866 million, according to the IOC. At least 25 percent of that revenue - about $216.5 million - went directly to the BOCOG.

Sponsoring the Olympics provides "unparalleled returns on an tiffany and co bangles for sponsors," boasts the IOC in its marketing media guide.

"The Olympic Games provide a global marketing platform, based on ideals and values, providing excellent opportunities for a company's sales, showcasing, internal rewards and community outreach programs," the IOC states. In addition to exclusive worldwide marketing rights, TOP partners are granted use of all Olympic logos and icons, preferential access to Olympic broadcasting advertising, on-site opportunities and protection against so-called ambush marketing (efforts by non-TOP companies to use the Olympics as a marketing venue).

The Chinese government lent its hand to limit ambush marketing. tiffany and co key rings in July, it restricted advertising space in Beijing, giving priority to the official sponsors. In the past year, the government reportedly tore down more than 30,000 outdoor ads in Beijing in an attempt to clear the advertising terrain for official Olympic sponsors. Throughout the Olympic Green, the government even hung Olympic banners over signs, or put small pieces of tape over logos of companies that were not TOP sponsors.

The lower tiers of the Olympic bureaucracy are also laden with sponsorship money. Each individual sport is governed by an tiffany and co money clips federation, each country governed by a national Olympic committee, and each sports team run by a national governing body - with many receiving money and supplies from dozens of corporate partners.

Among the international federations, the International Equestrian tiffany and co necklaces is sponsored by Alltech, HSBC, Rolex and Samsung. The International Modern Pentathlon Union is sponsored by Lufthansa, New Balance and Speedo, and the International Tennis Federation lists 13 sponsors, including Ka Motors, Sega and Wilson. The Badminton World Federation advertises its "Title Sponsor Benefits" on its website in an attempt to garner more sponsorship contracts.At the national level, Canada's National Olympic Committee boasts 42 sponsors and suppliers including 3M, General Mills, Hudson's Bay Company and Air Canada. The Japanese Olympic Committee's sponsors include Budweiser, Toyota and Yahoo! Japan, along with 19 others. The Olympic Council of Malaysia is sponsored by Air Asia, BHP Billiton and Nestle, among others.