We heard it was called Olympian which then became Olympia...and now it looks like the latest shoes of the Jordan brand collection will have to find a new name again!

Thing is, Beijing Olympics 2008 endorsed Adidas as Olympic Games Official Athletic Sponsor, and the rule does not allow Nike-Jordan nor any other player to brand products with the Olympic brand.

Indeed, sources claim that Adidas invested quite a lot to be the sole sport brand having the rights to brand their products with the Olympic Rings and Olympic-related terms.

But was the deal worth it?

A recent survey published on Forbes found out that very few Chinese citizens cared about who the official Olympic sponsor was, nor did this influenced in any way their purchasing behavior. What might irritate Adidas even more is apparently 40% of those surveyed thought that Nike was the official sponsor, while only 50% correctly identified Adidas as the Games' sponsor.

Nike might have been denied the right to name their new shoes after the biggest event of this year, but it has indeed succeeded in arising brand awareness linked to the Games by establishing key partnerships - the most important being probably the one with the US Senior Men’s Basketball Team, one of the most visible team that will be competing in the Olympics.

It will be interesting to see after the Games how much weight different strategic choices will carry for the 2 competitors over the long term in China.