ABSTRACT
The sponsorship money is always a welcome benefit to the recipient, but problems arise when marketers improve the image of dangerous products, influence the content of exhibits, or dictate the agendas of civic organizations. Sports are perhaps the most thoroughly commercialized sector of our culture. Companies pour billions of dollars into sponsorship of sports events, basking in the glamour and power of athletics. "Cause-related marketing," as the strategy is called, was pioneered over a decade ago by American Express. Corporate sponsorship is hastening the intrusion of marketers into institutions and endeavors that were once ad-free. As professional sports and the Olympics approach commercial saturation, marketers are turning their attention to the last bastions of amateur athletics: college and high school sports. The commercialization of sports is yet another illustration of the way practically every activity, diversion, and form of expression is pressed into corporate service.
