"Worldwide partner and best mate"
There is something rather gross about this bit of marketing copy - Coca Cola water brand Glaceau’s description of its relationship to the Olympic Games. It’s the shift in tone between corporate sponsor-speak - the layers of graded “partnerships” which determine the look and feel of the reality-bubble* being built at vast expense in London right now - and the friendliness of “best mate”. Maybe there are also gradations of mateyness: certain brands are best mates, others are bezzie mates, maybe a few have paid enough to be BFFs.
*a reality bubble in which Jessie J’s hairstyle is “iconic” no less.
