Olympic brand police are sucking the spirit out of the Games

23rd July 2012 by Steph0

The discussion around the Olympic brand police has been a hot topic not only in the media but also here in the office with many different views on what the focus of the Games should be. Following Adam’s post on Thursday, supporting the protection of Olympic sponsors, I’ve jumped in to the join in the debate…

There is a new breed of special police patrolling our streets. Dressed in purple caps and shirts, this 300-strong army is out to battle businesses and crack down on the café owners who break stringent advertising rules in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Olympic brand officers are out in force to protect the rights of official sponsors of the Games, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Cadbury.

Even the Duchess of Cambridge’s family isn’t safe, with the Middleton’s party supplies website being investigated by the sponsor spies.

Now I am not saying that the interests of brands that have invested considerable cash and support into the Games should not be protected. I appreciate that the £1.4bn donated by official sponsors would have had to come out of the taxpayer pockets if these brands hadn’t pledge their support, but there has to be a limit, right?

Ambush marketing, where business and organisations piggy back on the investment of official sponsors is one thing, but by banning business in London from using words such as “gold”, “summer” and even “London” in their advertising campaigns, aren’t we taking things a little far?

Surely the priority of the thousands of real policemen and women guarding Olympic sporting events should be to ensure the safety of the millions of spectators who will be passing through the city during the Games, not making sure that they empty their branded crisps and snacks into clear polythene bags so as not to anger the sponsors.

Even the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has relaxed some of the more absurd rules. Official sponsor McDonald’s monopoly over selling chips has been quashed, so hungry workers at the opening and closing ceremonies can tuck into chips from other caterers, not just the fast food giant (which, as many people have rightly commented, actually sells fries).

When London was awarded the Olympics back in 2005 the focus was then as it should be now on the world of sport and the achievement of the nation in securing the biggest sporting event in the world.

Fast forward seven years and the Olympic brand police are in danger of sucking the spirit out of the Games that the British public has created, coming out in their thousands to support the Torch bearers in their local communities as the Olympic Flame made its journey down to the capital.

The Olympics is billed as the greatest show on earth, but with staffing problems, slum conditions in the Olympic village and concerns that the opening ceremony might have to be cut short, surely the focus must be on ironing out these issues to ensure London 2012 is remembered for all the right reasons.

 


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