The research, among more than 2000 UK adults, found that multi-million marquee sponsorships aren’t cutting through, as consumers are bombarded with unsupported brand messages.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of Brits could not name a single Olympic sponsor, while a further one in three (33%) said they could guess, but would be unsure if they were correct.

There is little improvement in London, with four in five (80%) unable to name more than two of the Games' 14 headline sponsors, which have spent nearly a billion pounds between them.

Mark Lowe, Third City founding partner, said: "People still trust brands more than they trust politicians, but marketers now need to work a lot harder to win them over. Advertising that offers no promise, support or reason-to-believe looks like wallpaper.

"Unfortunately, too many Olympic sponsorships fall into this category. Just badging a major event, no matter how high profile, just isn't enough anymore."

Olympic sponsors include Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Adidas, British Airways, Visa, McDonald's, Lloyds TSB and BP.