I’m already quite excited about the 2012 Olympics. I mean… the OLYMPICS! IN THE CITY WHERE I LIVE! Apart from the inevitable public transport cock-ups and ridiculous prices, how can that be anything but EXCITING? And if the GB medal haul is a sign of things to come, even better. But here’s something I hope we don’t see in 2012…
Organizers Stick to the Job of Hiding Companies That Aren’t Official Sponsors (Wall Street Journal)
Just who, in whatever sponsorship committee meeting back in 2000 or whenever, allowed that even to become the slightest vaguest hint of a suggestion on the agenda? “Okay, so you’ll sponsor us, but on the condition that we try to fool the public into thinking that your competitors don’t exist? Sure, where do we sign?”. And remember, this isn’t a Crazy Totalitarian China story… it also happened in Athens, where people were asked to remove t-shirts with “inappropriate brand logos” before entering the stadium.
Let’s not let it happen, eh? Sponsorship is advertising, not mind control.