Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 6:19:19 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

China Protests Singe Torch Sponsor Lenovo

Posted Apr 14, 08 10:42 AM CDT in World,  Business,  Technology 

(Newser) – Lenovo execs were hoping for some major branding momentum from winning the Olympic torch design competition—not to mention from plunking down some $100 million as sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Games. What they got was anti-China vitriol that has accompanied the torch around the globe, and a marketing campaign fast going up in smoke, reports the Wall Street Journal.

"I just didn't anticipate something like that happening," says the marketing chief for the world’s fourth-largest computer maker, which bought IBM’s PC division in 2005 and controls 30% of the Chinese PC market. Lenovo bristles at being called “the Chinese PC company,” says its American CEO. But, analysts say, “China” as a brand is in for a rough ride in the coming months.

Source Wall Street Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Why the Chinese Need Olympic Glory

    Aug 4, 08 4:30 PM CDT
    Why the Chinese Need Olympic Glory Those shocked by China’s bristly response to Olympic protests and criticisms would do well to remember some history, Orville Schell writes for the New York Review of Books. After what the Chinese call a "century of humiliation" at the hands of the West and Japan, the nation has developed an institutionalized paranoia and sense of injury that even a booming economy hasn't fixed. That's where the Olympics come in.
    More »

  • China Reopens Tibetan Tourism

    Jun 25, 08 12:13 PM CDT
    China Reopens Tibetan Tourism China is allowing foreign tourists to enter Tibet for the first time since March protests, sources tell the BBC. The Olympic torch’s smooth reception in Lhasa over the weekend means "Tibet is safe,” a Tibetan tourism director tells state media. "We welcome the domestic and foreign tourists." Tibet remains essentially off-limits, however, to foreign journalists. More »

  • Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet

    Jun 21, 08 6:17 AM CDT
    Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet Under tight security, the Olympic torch made its way through Tibet’s capital in the most controversial leg of its worldwide journey—a jaunt that ended with Chinese criticism of the Dalai Lama, Reuters reports. “We will be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique,” said the Communist party’s Tibet leader in front of Potala Palace, the exiled Tibetan leader’s traditional seat. More »

  • Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest

    May 7, 08 11:04 PM CDT
    Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest Chinese and Tibetan climbers lit an OIympic torch at the top of Mount Everest today, the BBC reports. The climbers unfurled Chinese and Olympic flags and chanted slogans for TV cameras beaming their images live onto the nation's TVs. The Chinese hope the elaborate stunt will counter the damage from anti-China protests that greeted the torch as it traveled around the world. More »

  • Thousands Cheer Torch in N. Korea

    Apr 28, 08 5:28 AM CDT
    Thousands Cheer Torch in N. Korea Tens of thousands of North Koreans took to the streets to herald the arrival of the Olympic torch today, marking a radically different greeting for the often-harried flame, Reuters reports. People waved North Korean and Chinese flags, danced, cheered, and sang military songs. The welcome contrasted sharply with waves of protests at other global relays that have driven the torch inside vehicles and behind walls of security guards. More »

Employees prepare computers on display at the Lenovo headquarters in Beijing, in this Aug. 8, 2007 photo.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
Gabriela Sabatini carries the Olympic torch in Buenos Aires, Friday. Runners flanked by rows of security tried to reverse weeks of bad publicity for the host of the Summer Games.   (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
In this composite image released by Lenovo the torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay is seen in Beijing, in March 2007.   (AP Photo/Lenovo)
William Amelio, president and CEO of Lenovo Group Ltd., attends the Committee of 100 Conference on Friday, April 20, 2007 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • Olympic torch • Samsung • Coca Cola • Richard Gere • Lenovo


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Technology Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »