TAMPA, Fla. (
) -- While Democrats have been eager to scrub corporate evidence from their upcoming convention, Republicans have embraced the culture.
A simple peak around the Tampa Convention Center reveals a subtle smattering of corporate sponsors.
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has an entire media lounge next to the press filing center. The location offers coffee, colorful seating and various hubs that cast the search giant in a positive fashion. One television screen in the lounge offers up facts about how many jobs the company supports in the United States.
Google also blasts up a huge advertisement on the convention stage in between speeches by Republican officials -- the ad flashes its various brands like Google+, and YouTube.
Many other recognizable companies have joined Google as official sponsors of the convention.
The official guide lists
Microsoft
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,
AT&T
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,
Cisco
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,
Hewlett-Packard
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, and
Adobe Systems
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, among others.
The Tampa Bay host committee also notes various official providers, including
Xerox
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and
Coca-Cola
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.
At a first glance, Coca-Cola may elude obvious recognition. But convention goers who must dispose of recyclable products will notice that every recycling bin is shaped in the form of a massive 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottle wrapped in a red label. A tiny Coca-Cola Company logo appears at the bottom of the bin.
Observers will discover Xerox's presence at the print shop -- a large room that holds numerous Xerox copying machines and stacks of printer paper.
AT&T is probably the first corporate sponsor that Republican National Convention attendees come across. Every lanyard worn at the convention is a red, white and blue rope with the classic telecommunications logo emblazoned on its sides.
-- Written by Joe Deaux in Tampa, Fla.
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