Chinese brand Honav were initially signed on as official pin suppliers in 2012, performing the role for a third consecutive Summer Games after doing so at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and have since extended their remit to also developing medals, mascots and plush toys.

Mascots Vinicius and Tom were launched last November just four months after Honav began working with organisers to develop them soon after the FIFA World Cup.

All five thousand replicas of Vinicius have reportedly sold out, as well as nearly that many Tom's, but total sales for all the merchandise remain down on numbers at a similar stage ahead of Beijing 2008 and London 2012 so far.

After admitting that there appears no chance of sales in Brazil matching enthusiasm during the "dream sales" of 2008, due largely to the unprecedented enthusiasm of the Chinese, Honav Brasil executive director Xu Yubo was honest in admitting how a lot more work lies in marketing the Games to a domestic audience.

Other events are better grabbing the public psyche, he said, citing last year's World Cup last year, celebrations in March marking the 450th anniverssary of Rio de Janeiro and the annual Rock in Rio Festival due to take place in September, while the Games is still seen as something distant on the horizon.

This month's One Year To Go celebrations as well as other promotional activities are helping, he said, providing "an indication of what is going on".

But the other danger is the event being overly-associated with the increasingly unpopular Brazilian authorities, a situation arguably not helped by President Dilma Rousseff's presence at various recent events connected with the Games.

A protest schedule for Copacabana Bay tomorrow is indicative of wider discontent following a series of corruption allegations, including one involving energy giant Petrobras, as well as the plummeting value of the Brazilian currency.

Such is her unpopularity that some have even called for Rousseff's impeachment.

"Rio 2016 is working hard to separate [its image] from the Government," Xu told insdethegames.

"If they can do that, we will have a good Olympic Games."

Xu, who has spent much of his working life in Brazil, remains confident support can rise over coming months, with the opening of new stores an obvious way to increase sales.

At the moment there are offical stores at the Galeão International Airport and at the Rio 2016 Headquarters, selling mascots and other merchandise, as well as two on the University of Estácio site, and an online store accessible here.

Five more are due to open in the next two months, including at the tourist hotspots of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer, as well as two at domestic and international airports in Sao Paulo.

Sixty thousand new mascots are due to be available for sale soon, with a further 250,000 being developed.

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