With the Winter Olympics now past the midway point, battles for consumer attention away from the action on the snow and ice are well and truly underway. Click on the brand names below to view some of the activity that we’ve already monitored at Xtreme:

Samsung appear to be the most prolific ATL advertiser among the official sponsors. It is running Olympic related creative across Europe to leverage its status as an IOC sponsor, promoting handsets including Jet and Omnia, and showcasing its live TV facilities. In the US, co-branded ads with AT&T highlight the live footage available via the network and its Mystic handset – interestingly in the States the brand chooses to focus on its association with the US Olympic team rather than its IOC deal.

P&G, a Team USA sponsor, as opposed to IOC or Vanoc partner, has adopted an increasingly common multibrand strategy, with 18 of its brands combining with the corporate brand in an effort that also includes P&G’s first corporate TV ad in the U.S. Appealing to its core ‘Moms’ market the emotive TVC broke during the opening ceremony featuring a collection of children, playing out scenes from the Winter Olympics from the opening ceremony to injury disappointments and medal winning success. Budweiser, another Team USA sponsor, has thus far taken a slightly less imaginative approach, instead focusing on the thrills and excitement of the Games, a method also used by Asahi in Japan, which is the official beer brand of  Japan’s Olympic team

A common and relatively inexpensive approach brands can take to leverage the Games is to partner with broadcasters, an option both BMW and Goodyear have taken with NBC.

Of the guerrilla activity, electronics retailer Euronics is parodying Curling in a humourous, and somewhat bizarre, TVC across Europe where stones have been replaced with the latest HD TV sets….

In the UK, other than the aforementioned Samsung activity, Omega has probably been the most prolific of the IOC sponsors, with short TVCs highlighting its status as the official timekeeper of 24 Olympic Games. And it wouldn’t be Winter Olympic season without a brand trotting out our most infamous Winter Olympian, Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, who is currently staring in ads for insurance brand Churchill. And from the ridiculous to the sublime, we congratulate Amy Williams on her sensational gold medal win in the skeleton on Friday, making her the first British solo gold medallist in 30 years. Does an endorsement deal now beckon?