For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, many of the games' sponsors camped out around the Bird's Nest Stadium on the Olympic Green in elaborately constructed pavilions. Brands such as Adidas and Samsung let product messaging take a backseat to exhibitions on their environmental efforts and history with the games.
Cell phone stations hanging from the ceiling at the Samsung pavilion allowed guests the chance to sample music, movies, and television series.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Besides educating consumers about its products, Samsung's greatest effort with the pavilion was environmental education.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
A walk through the Adidas pavilion culminated in a spiraling, 30-foot tall LED screen made up of nearly 800 tiles.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Photographs in the "Global Challenges" exhibition of Johnson & Johnson's pavilion depicted the company's role in aiding international health crises.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
The first pavilion that most visitors encountered, Omega sat directly across from the entrance to the new Olympic Green subway station.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
Above the Chinese symbol of yin and yang at the Volkswagen pavilion, a display showed a traditional gas pump with oil dripping from it and another spouting organics like water and plants.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
A giant likeness of Chinese basketball player Yao Ming seemed to burst through the exterior of the China Mobile Pavilion.
Photo: Eric Powell for BizBash
