This big, white banner, which announces the healthcare giant is a “worldwide partner” of the Summer Olympics, was stretched across a New Brunswick, New Jersey, office building despite headline-grabbing strife over China’s policies that caused violent uprisings in Tibet and protests disrupting the journey of the Olympic torch. The banner went up even as Hollywood heavyweights such as Steven Spielberg decried China’s indifference to the crisis in Darfur, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey writes.

“It’s not something that we don’t recognize. We think about it,” a Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman, tells the paper. “You can’t be a sponsor without recognizing the issues are out there. In the specific individual circumstances, our hearts go out to Darfur and Tibet. The games always will serve as a platform for discussion, but at the end of the day, the games are about celebrating sporting achievement, and from that perspective, we’re proud to be a sponsor.”

Terry Cecil, president of the International Sponsor Council, a trade group for corporate sponsors, tells the paper that it’s not in the best interests of the world to ostracize China. “For the companies that contribute millions and millions of dollars to this cause, it’s a sensitive issue,” he tells the paper. “These companies don’t want negative exposure.” In the end, he thinks the companies will come away thinking their investment was worthwhile, despite the conflict.

Or maybe big business is just getting better at dodging potential public relations problems (when big markets beckon). “Each sponsor has their own objectives,” the J&J spokeswoman tells the paper. “When you think about our objectives for growing our business, especially in China, it’s a great opportunity for us.”