Great freebies wait inside the Bell Ice Cube.

The Olympics are a celebration of amateur athletics and a unique chance for the world to come together for two special weeks.   But, with an audience of billions, they’re also a great place to sell things.

The corporate presence is everywhere in Vancouver.  The Games have an official cola, mattress and cough medicine.  At exhibits around the city, you can be dazzled by Samsung TVs, get free Coke after sitting through a lengthy infomercial and even learn about the wonders of British Columbia’s hydroelectric industry.

Now, a lot of fans balk at all the marketing that goes on at the Games.  They turn up their noses at the corporate pavilions and claim advertising is a black eye on the spirit of sport.   Not me.  As anyone from Vancouver can attest, the Olympics are a huge financial undertaking.  Sponsors help foot the bill.  From a fan’s perspective, you’ve just got to learn how to dig the corporate vibe.

Bell's soothing winterscape offers refuge from fevered Olympic excitement.

Here’s what I mean.  You know that the minute you step inside the big corporate houses, you’re essentially walking onto the set of a commercial.  You’re going to be assaulted with promos and brochures from every angle.  What determines whether or not the experience is worth your while is one critical factor: free stuff.

And, in this respect, the Bell Ice Cube on Beatty and Robson Streets is a clear-cut winner.  The eye-catching pavilion, housed in a see-through tent dominated by a flashing LED screen, is unabashedly corporate – There’s even a mini store in back for picking up the latest Bell mobile phones.   But because Bell pulls no punches about its profit motives and has such great swag to give away, I loved the Ice Cube.

Bell shows off its super-sharp HD signal via 10 different Olympic feeds in the Ice Cube.

When you enter, you’re handed a free set of earbud headphones.  As many visitors have pointed out, these aren’t the rinky-dink dollar store variety but good-quality equipment.  Passing through the foyer – with its LED screen and torch signed by Sidney Crosby – you enter the frosty interior of the Cube.  Walls are lined with large-screen TVs showing 10 different Olympic feeds in super-sharp Bell HD.

Here’s where the headphones come into play.  Hanging next to the TVs are audio inputs for plugging in your earphones.  I plugged in and was immediately sucked into the USA-Switzerland men’s hockey game unfolding on the screen in front of me.  I’ve been to Olympic events in person and watched plenty of sports on the big screens around town as well as in my own living room.  And, I’m almost embarrassed to say, the Bell Ice Cube topped all of that.  The sound and video were so crisp that I’m considering switching my cable service before the Games are through.

Bell's free earbud headphones let visitors plug in and tune out at the Ice Cube.

Apart from the headphones, there wasn’t a lot going on in the Ice Cube.  At 3 p.m. Canadian gold medal winner and hometown hero Ashleigh McIvor was going to be on hand for a live interview, part of a daily series at the Cube with Canadian athletes.  But for the moment, things were quiet.  Courteous Bell attendants in white parkas helped visitors figure out the technology.  A soothing blue glow bathed the darkened room.  Sparkling fiber-optic lights hung from the ceiling.  It was actually a rare and welcome respite from the Olympic fever raging on the streets of downtown Vancouver.

I was about to exit the Cube when I remembered my golden rule.  The headphones were a nice parting gift but there was one more thing I needed.  For weeks now, I’ve seen people walking around downtown clanging the distinctive blue and white Bell cowbells.   I asked three attendants before finally scoring one of my own (Apparently, the bells are only given out at random times:  Translation – Make sure you ask).

Has anyone else been to the the Ice Cube?  Did you dig the corporate vibe?

Remy Scalza