This summer (next week) the Olympic Games will officially start in the UK, the world’s media will descend on this country like a moth to a flame, in-fact that’s nearly 100% accurate, as millions of people are flocking to see flaming torches.
What perhaps you won’t realise is there has been a new law passed specifically for the games, it is a law which will see almost 300 law enforcement officers across the country checking firms to ensure they are not “ambush marketing” or illegally associating themselves with the games at the expense of official sponsors such as Adidas, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and BP.
It seems however the governing bodies are more bothered about the big sponsors than the everyday man, under the legislation specially introduced for the Olympic Games, they have the right to enter shops and offices and bring court action with fines of up to £20,000.
This country is hosting the BIGGEST cultural gaming event in the history of the world and we should be celebrating this. Businesses around the country should be benefiting from this, we are in a recession, the economy is in pieces, surely this is an ideal opportunity get money back into business?
Just to show how completely insane this whole thing is, here are some examples:
Businesses should not include a list of banned words, including “gold”, “silver”, “bronze”, “summer”, “sponsors” and “London”, you cannot give an impression of a formal connection to the Olympics.
This is not restricted to just advertising, it could simply be selling a cake in your shop called the Olympic cake, the Gold Winners Cake.
40 Olympic venues, 800 retailers have been banned from serving chips to avoid infringing fast-food rights secured by McDonald’s.
The ODA and LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) are responsible for this law and quite frankly are more worried about being sued by McDonalds than this country’s rights to freedom of speech.
We have begun work on an Olympic themed project but we are having to follow LOCOG’s ‘Rule 40’ which prohibits competing athletes from ‘appearing in advertising during and shortly before the Olympic Games’.
Again another nonsensical rule, an athlete who may be sponsored by a company, probably with a contract in place, will get over ruled by this law, so during the Olympics there will be a media blackout, from 18th July until the 15th August, which is designed to protect sponsors.
Subway has said it will be ‘taking down’ its current campaign featuring pole-vaulter Holly Bleasdale and boxer Anthony Ogogo. Sky is also running a campaign involving champion cyclist Chris Hoy this will also be removed.
In this case it is the athletes, not the brands, who will be possibly be punished if they ignore the blackout.
So overall it means we as nation have been punished by Big Corporate Money Deals, and that is the price necessary to ensure the degree of exclusivity that will attract the high price tags for official sponsorship packages.
On a final note, it is quite ironic that McDonald’s and Coca Cola are 2 of the main sponsors of the Olympics, considering this event is for the world’s elite athletes to compete in which health and fitness should be preached, then in the next breathe we are telling the world to go eat fast food and drink fizzy drinks…
…you make your own conclusions.
design understood would like to wish everybody
a very Merry Christmas & a prosperous New Year!
After a frantic few weeks in the music world with the likes of Noel Gallagher releasing his first solo album, only to be overshadowed by the astounding news that The Stone Roses are reforming for gigs in 2012. The ensuing mayhem of acquiring tickets for these gigs, of which I was successful and parties to boot, it seamed fitting to carve this years Halloween pumpkin in tribute to the mighty Roses, enjoy…
Rather than explain what Steve Job’s has done throughout his reign at Apple, you can go on the internet and read all the tributes, I’d rather talk about how apple has affected my career.
When I was a kid there was no such thing as a computer, I climbed trees, rode my bike, drank from the tap and watched TV via a choice of 4 channels, like any kid in the 80’s.
Computers then started to slowly come in. My first experience was the old BBC, then ATARI and other computer games consoles but these were superficial products, fun products, nothing that showed me an insight into my future as a graphic designer.
My journey using Apple products began in a galaxy far far away (well early 90’s)…
In 1993/4 I began a desktop publishing course at Parson Cross College, this is where I used for the first time a Power Macintosh. This was a simple machine with a mouse and it was the first time i created anything graphic design wise what so ever. Yes I already knew how to use computers and yes it was a simple machine, I also think it was Quark I was using but it opened up a world of possibilities in creation.
Finishing up with school I went to College and entered the world of Graphic Design, times had moved on, now Power Mac G3’s were atop the college desks, with various software installed on them, Photoshop, Quark, freehand etc.
When using an Apple product, it may not be as powerful as the highest spec PC and it’s not the easiest thing to upgrade. What they are brilliant for is a designers work-flow, not only do they look good, but it’s the manner of which they work for the designer that makes our jobs that much easier.
The way you can move from programme to programme instantly, it just made the whole experience less mechanical and more a joy to use.
The next few years saw, G4’s, G5’s, iMacs, all products that made our design jobs easier and easier. During this time the design industry widely adopted Apple products as the tools of the trade and I for one cannot imagine a design agency running anything else.
Then over the last few years, the iPhone and in particular the iPad are giving new and creative platforms for we the creatives to work on. This tablet machine, with it’s large and sensitive screen, allows portfolios, presentations, internet, photographs to be displayed without the need to print, use a projector, or turn a computer on, for me this truly shows the invention of Apple.
Which brings me to Steve Jobs, he was amidst all these products and was one of the main reasons these products are how they are today, his inventiveness and foresight made it all possible not to mention Pixar and his contribution to animation and cinema, he is the reason Apple has followed me throughout my career in the creative world.
He will be missed.
However here’s to the next innovation from the next genius from Apple.
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design understood’s creative director
We are very happy to announce our latest new client Split the Bills.
We are currently working on the branding for the company from the ground up, the logo is finished checkout the loverly piccy above, we have a holding page live splitthebills.co.uk, and leaflets distributed!
There are other exciting branding exercises to follow, watch this space!