Hasta La Creative!

McDonald’s is sending 100 children from around the world to Rio. While it has sent kids to the games since 2008, this is the first one at which the company arranged for them to be part of the opening ceremony. For most of the children, this marks their first travel outside their home country, and for many their first airplane ride, said David Zlotnik, senior director-global public relations at McDonald’s.

Peter Franklin, group director-worldwide sports at Coca-Cola, has been working on events including the Olympics and FIFA World Cup for more than 20 years. He said the soft-drink maker works to get all of its employees at the games to at least one event. “For new people working on these projects, there are really only two outcomes,” Mr. Franklin said. “Some people, like me, become addicted to the global events and want to make it a career. Others love the experience once, but can’t imagine putting themselves through this more than once.”

Momentum President-Chief Marketing Officer Kevin McNulty has been attending the games since the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when he gave tours to the athletes as a student at UCLA. Momentum is working with sponsors Nissan and Brazilian private bank Bradesco on the Olympic torch relay, an event that started in May and will conclude when a surprise torchbearer lights the cauldron during the opening ceremony. Mr. McNulty, who remembers Muhammad Ali performing the honor in Atlanta 1996, said the final torchbearer is always a secret.

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