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The IOC's 'Clean Venue' Policy
Dave21212 writes "Yes folks, the International Olympic Committee's 'Brand Protection Team' will be protecting against the threat of Advertising Terrorism at the games. According to an MSNBC article, the IOC's Karen Webb states 'Our role is to protect all of our sponsor categories and actively monitor ambush activity.' Restricted items include, flags, umbrellas, shirts, hats, and bags with trademarks of rival sponsors. Unofficial brands can be confiscated and with only Coke allowed on Olympic grounds, this brings new meaning to The Pepsi Challenge!"
Did anyone besides me notice that all the gymnasts who had their own bottles with them had had the labels taken off? It seems a little overkill for "advertising terrorism"...
He who has the gold makes the rules ?
Now, fast forward 10 years and imagine that SWAT-like team practicing on the stadium, but instead of looking for actual terrorist threats, they're looking for banned advertising. Think I'm joking? Well, just accellerate current corporate greed and how much power corporations wield, and I think I'm pretty close to the truth.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Is anyone else deliberately NOT watcing the Olympics in light of this corporate assholery? I'm in the UK, where we're not being censored, but I'm not going to encourage the corporate ad campaign that's masquerading as a sports event by tuning in.
The funny thing is, that previous stories posted here about China's restrictions, firewalling off any sites promoting freedom of speech etc have evoked harsh criticism of the regime. This is no different though, except the control isn't in the hands of a political party, but a few greedy corporations.
I can't believe that after charging people to come and watch the games, they're now telling them what to eat, drink, wear and think while there. I'd ask for my money back; no actually I'd ask for payment for them employing me as some fucking walking advert.
No wonder attendance is only just hovering above 50% this year, even though it's in Athens. Seems like people don't like "controlled fun"... Funny that...
Code, Hardware, stuff like that.
Shouldn't the games be about that stuff instead of selling out to the sponsors? Oh, wait, this is the real world, where even world politics is part of the games-one of the latest was the Iranian incident.
C:\>
What I didn't get from the article is whether or not this applies only to employees/volunteers or if it extends to the spectators, as well. If I show up with a vintage 1986 Spuds MacKenzie t-shirt and the official beer of the games is Rolling Rock, do I get tossed? Subjected to "additional security measures"? Or do they just not care?
If the latter, could someone loosen my tin foil a bit?
One would that that coke would be the last thing a athlte would want in his/her system ;)
advertising fascism?
;-).
To their credit, they are hardly the first governing body to respond to the spectre of terrorism with a crackdown on civil liberties
dinner: it's what's for beer
Now I can't wear my Al-Qaeda baseball cap.
This insanity needs to be stopped.
First they spend 1.5 Billion to invasively spy on EVERYONE there...
Then athletes cant talk about the games, or take pictures.. For fear of not getting their take of the revenue..
Now fans cant even choose what food they eat, unless its a 'sponsored' product?
The entire Olympic games have become a commercialized farce, and needs to be disbanded.
Its a mockery of what it should be about: athletes competing for the title of 'best'. Nothing more, nothing less.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Some major atheletes (like Kim Clijsters) don't go to the olympics because their contract with other sponsors (Fila in her case) doesn't allow so.
I am shocked and appalled.
The Olympics are now nothing more than another way for corporations to get people's attention in order to view advertisements.
The Olympics have always been heavily commercialized; Making that a little (well ok, a lot) more exclusive doesn't really change much. Would a sponsor-free Olympics really be any better? Could it even happen?
I am so sick of people using the "terrorism" tag to do what ever they want....are we sure that gwbIII isn't involved with the Olympics???...
plz i mean "Advertising Terrorism"???....total horseshit...
Is it me or are the Olympics taking on the tone of a totalitarian regime? If the restrictions on the athletes (no blogs, no 'unapproved' products, etc.) were being imposed by a government, there'd be an outcry. Because a non-governmental entity is doing it, it's ok?
I hope this doesn't infringe my rights online somehow.
Can these people not tell the difference between someone just wearing a shirt and a corporate-sponsored ambush? Telling people that they can't eat "restricted" sandwiches or drink a frappe sounds more like the spirit of Stalin than that of the Olympics.
Is anybody making money on these games anymore? I haven't looked at the economics of it but, from an entertainment industry perspective, it seems to be a fear game. 'We must pay whatever it costs for the olympics because we always have.' Same with the advertisers. As far as I can tell, these games are a flop from the profit point of view. Everybody's losing.
What I'm thinking is, now that there's a world class venue in athens, start a new sanctioning body and a better run set of games that happen in greece every four years. Ditch all the politics and decades of aggragate crap rules and start over with sports.
Aw hell, it's a dream isn't it?
(as in Philip K.)
It won't be long before the only way you can afford an apartment is to have advertisers "sponsor" your walls, blanketing them with adverising. As part of your contract, you will no longer be allowed to display competetors' products, or be found in breach of contract and jailed.
dinner: it's what's for beer
Dear Slashdot,
I draw your attention to the inappropriate use of the words "Olympic" and "Pepsi" in the same article. Please remove this document immediately or you will be hearing from our lawyers.
Jacques
Is that this may spread to other venues, cant wear a metallica tshirt to ozzfest.
Cant attend a sporting event with the same rules even going as far as saying you cant wear a hockey jersey to football game.
How long will it be until a corporation begins to fund roads or parks and have security banning other advertisers.
It's bad enough I cant watch the superior coverage of the olympics legaly here in the USA due to similar contracts. Though I wonder how the advertisers would feel if people began to boycot them becuase one tv station banned them from consumer choice of BBC's olympics vs MicroSoft NBC Olympics.
I remember a time when (idealistic?) organizations like the IOC would actually pretend to be about something else than money or branding. Or ambush prevention
Okay, so the IOC once again leads the way in corporate evil. If you think this is the lowest they'll go, you're in for more than a few surprises.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
"Advertisers try vaulting over the official games marketers"
http://www.nypost.com/business/18669.htm In 1996, Nike was the Cinderella of the Atlanta Olympics. Not invited to the ball, it made sure the shoe fit anyway.
The sneaker maker handed out swoosh-branded "Just Do It" signs, erected billboards and even built a makeshift sports complex -- leaving the patriotic impression that it was an official Olympic sponsor.
It wasn't. Archrival Reebok shelled out millions for bona fide sponsorship status. Nike glommed onto Olympic glory in a money-saving ploy known as ambush marketing.
"For pennies on the dollar, relative to the top sponsors, ambush marketing can be cost effective," said sports marketing expert David Carter. "Many consumers end up rather confused as to who the official Olympic sponsors are."
For what it's worth, from http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?Art Num=61113:
Known as the "clean venue policy", the rules were drawn up by the Greeks and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to shield sponsors from so-called "ambush marketing" -- an attempt to advertise items during the games without paying sponsorship fees.
The restrictions on food and drink are intended to ensure that only items made by official sponsors such as McDonald's and two Greek dairy firms are consumed at Olympic venues.
An official familiar with the restrictions said: "We have to protect official sponsors who have paid millions to make the Olympics happen. There will be cases of individual spectators being allowed in wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of a rival sports brand but anyone who tries to practise ambush marketing will be removed."
And the actual list:
http://www.athens2004.com/en/specAdviceRestricted
The following items and actions are restricted at Olympic Venues:
Mopeds, bicycles, skates, skateboards
Electronic equipment of Non-Rights holding Broadcasting Organisations
Flags of non-participating countries. Flags of participating countries larger than 2x1 meters, banners (larger than 1x1 meters approximately). No banner may be hung in metallic, wooden or plastic poles or frames
Horns, laser devices and other devices that cause disturbance
Flag poles, logos, open umbrellas in seating areas, items (T-shirts, hats, bags, etc.) with distinctive trademarks of companies that are competitive to those of the sponsors
Pirate "Athens 2004" products
Leaflets, pamphlets, non-approved publications, unauthorised signs and labels, printed material for publishing purposes with religious, political, provocative or obscene content
Balls, rackets, Frisbees, and similar items, a large number of coins, lighters
Musical instruments, glass bottles, flasks, iceboxes, ice-bags, thermos, water, beverages, alcoholic drinks and material, in general, of any shape or content, or any other items that ATHOC in cooperation with the Security Authorities in charge, consider to be dangerous or inappropriate
Food (except for proven medical reasons)
Animals (except service animals)
Large items, large bags, suitcases, folding seats, small stools etc. (except in certain events)
Strollers in seating areas
Smoking or gambling
Collection of money for unauthorised purposes
Use or distribution of clothing and/or any type of material with the intent of advertising, promotion, raising money or making profit through unauthorised means
Ambush marketing
Demonstrations of a political or religious nature
Unauthorised ticket sales
Unauthorised sale of food
Unauthorised entry of TV presenters and unauthorised transmission and/or videotaping through transmi
"These tactics cut to the heart of the commercial viability of the Games, and represents one of their single biggest threats. Without guaranteeing exclusivity, it is harder to play competitive sponsors off against each other."
While worrying about "brand impurity" cutting to the "heart" of "commercial viability," they seem to have forgotten about the soul of the games.
Which is understandable, since to the promoters and "marketing protection squads," the games ceased long ago to be anything other than a way to make lots of profits.
When it becomes so bad that the majority of participants and spectators don't want to play a role in these little marketing games, it'll be too late. And that day is getting closer.
everything in moderation
...if I gave two shits about the Olympics or the Olympics even matters anymore. The Olympics long devolved from any relation to amateur athletics to a forum for rapid nationalism and advertisement. Go Lithuania!
From the article:
Nike's ambush of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is still seen as the ambush of all ambushes. Saving the US$ 50 million that an official sponsorship would have cost, Nike plastered the city in billboards, handed out swoosh banners to wave at the competitions and erected an enormous Nike center overlooking the stadium. The tactics devastated the International Olympic Committee's credibility and spooked other organizations such as FIFA into adopting more assertive anti-ambushing strategies.
The article goes on to mention how Nike has never sponsored an entire event, and admits to "coming from a different angle" by sponsoring teams, press conferences even individual players. It's too bad that it has nothing specific to say about the Pepsi/Coca-Cola relationship.
Perhaps this is why there's such low interest in this year's Games. They've restricted the hell out of them such that we cannot enjoy them freely as we have in the past. As it is now, the Olympics are becoming less of a celebration of freedom and sport and more of an excercise in totalitarianism. What's next? Frisking people to make sure that the only credit card in their wallet is a Visa?
Haec merda tauri est. Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
Don't blame corporations for doing what they're programmed in their very DNA to do: turn a profit. Blame the Olympics for whoring themselves out for the corporate dollars. If you recall, the IOC had two members who took over $1 million to bring the 2002 games to Salt Lake City. Would it be a surprise if that's just the tip of the iceberg, and that there's major bribery of IOC members taking place on a continual basis? Corporations may be the johns, but it's the Olympics who's the streetwalker.
They are just creating a set of rules so they can kick out the people who are doing guerilla marketing. They are not targetting random people who happen to wear a Nike t-shirt. I went to multiple Olympic events, I was carrying my Sony camcorder and wearing Nikes. My friend had a shirt with a huge Nike swoosh on it--not a hint of a problem. Sure, you can't bring your food in, but that's the same in any sports event or concert. Frankly, with Coke at 1Euro and bottled water at 0.50c in the stadium, I didn't miss the Pepsi or the "freedom" to bring my own.
Volunteers are a (slightly) different story. But they are in official uniform anyway, so it's more a matter of covering the "Sony" logo on their cameras and stuff.
What happend to the ideal of athletic competition? Sure, it's still in the charter, somewhere. But now I don't even watch the games anymore since it's has become a commercial yippo of corruption, drug abuse, cheating, money and nationalism (those athletes running around draped in their country's flag).
The news actually came out via BoingBoing over a week ago...I wrote about it in my essay journal.
Have a Coke and a Smile...Or Else
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
They are at the Olympic freakin' games! They should be lovin it. Why can't they catch the wave of human compassion, and let those corporations have a little fun, too?
Heck, if they are so opposed to a little increased mindshare, why don't they leave? They should just do it.
They shouldn't put up with being somewhere or doing something that doesn't make them happy. They should go everywhere they want to be, not where someone tells them to be. That way, they would be able to share moments. Share Life.
What do they want? To have it their way, right away?
Jeez
The Olympic Partner Programme (TOP)
...affect my rights online?
Am I missing something?
2000: Qantas Airlines' slogan "Spirit of Australia" coincidentally sounds like games slogan "Share the spirit" to chagrin of official sponsor Ansett Air
Anyone who has lived in Australia can tell you that Qantas has used "Spirit of Australia" as an advertising slogan for at least 20 years or more. Not only that, but Qantas is one of those "grand old lady" organisations who don't stoop to any type of advertising/marketing "tricks". The reporter has actually made a mistake with this choice of example, because if anything, it would be Ansett with the wrongdoing here.
It's not like anyone can get the word out about this ridiculous travesty against the human tradition of the olympic games since it's the media that perpetrates this farce. But there must be some way.
I'm not a sports fan in the slightest and I really don't care much about the olympic games anyway, but there is something really wrong, greedy and perhaps even sinister going on there. It needs to be checked.
Switching off in Finland. I want to see a festival of sports, and not some corporate ass-fucking. So, no thanks, keep your I'm Lovin' It Crappy Meals and Coca Colas.
Anyone remember this incident?
/., relating to either Sydney 2000 or Salt Lake City 2002. Someone with better search engine-wrangling skills than me want to help?
I can't find the bloody article, but I'm almost positive that this is not the first Olympics where the organizers decided sponsors had to be protected from the threat of a competing brand coming into the view of a camera or a visitor's eyes. I even think it was covered here on
Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
Perhaps they ought to spend more time cleaning up drugs rather than logos?
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
they might have made it more apparent before attending the games, i didnt like it much when i couldnt wear explicit tshirts to middle school but i had to bite the bullet and conform, damn that sucks
no really the idea of advertising terrorism is just crazy, i agree that if we have to wear certain clothes that we should be comensated for it
this is just the next hit in my book against the olymics after the blogging ban, i think the reason that they wont let that happen could be because some of the abuse the atheletes put themselves though
that was my two cents
Without the corporations there would not be bribery ;-)
Ein OS, Ein Schtadium, ein uh, advertising? =P
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
After all, what is to stop a competitor (particularly a female competitor) who is sponsored by Nike from peeling off the offending Adidas clothing on the winning rostrum, grinding it beneath their heal, and telling the press it was a protest against oppression of the loathed Adidas brand? Instant negative publicity for the brand sponsor - and trouble for those in the Olympic cabal that OKed this corrupt idea.
In the end, if this is about business; then the inducements to win the publicity war for the individual by fighting against the big, bad, globalisation baddie to too large and juicy to ignore.
Time to step away, now. This road ends badly for the IOC.
and my parents / friends always wondered why I could give a fuck about the Olympics....
Here's one more reason.
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
This is just like an amusement park that can control what they're going to let through their gates, even while charging $25 a person going through. The IOC is renting every olympic venue, so they get to set the rules as to what goes on there. If you don't like the rules, don't buy a ticket and don't go in the venues...
What it boils down to is the fact that the Olympics have lost their glow as a world gathering and now are just plain one big international TV game show production...
Please rename to "Greed". That seems more appropriate for many of the stories covered.
I want to beat the fucking shit out of you
I thought capitalism included the freedom to act within the rules? Ambushing may circumvent intentions, but as long as Nike didn't break any laws, they didn't do anything wrong--right?
This is one of the few events where so many countries in the world come together. Of course politics is involved. How could it not be?
Who'd want to wear a Pepsi brand shirt anyways? Every day I see people proudly wearing brand names on their clothing, but I do wonder if people would miss them if they suddenly weren't available for purchase.
You can say they may have too much security put up for brand protection at the Athens games, but they've already had a high profile failure... A man wearing a tutu and with the logo of a web-based casino paited on his chest jumped off a diving board into the pool at the diving venue.
The web casino gets all sorts of free worldwide media coverage and they only had to pay the one guy a few hundred dollars... pretty good bang for the advertising buck for a company that has trouble buying ads in mainstream venues.
This is what the Olympic officials most want to avoid. They've got sponsors paying for the right to be associated with the games, and they don't want anybody taking a free ride on their publicity.
How long until this practice is imported into the U.S.? Couldn't the Slashdot crowd make a dent by boycotting all companies involved in this bullshit and spreading the word to others to do the same? We need some good anti-marketing going.
-Myke
myke@compassionatecoalition.org
http://www.compassionatecoalition.org
Translation: "One would think that a Coca-Cola would be the last thing an athlete would want in eir system."
Not exactly. Coke does make Powerade brand sports drink.
..., e.g. Olympics ???
...+
Not that I drink a lot of any CSD, but
CC.
TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
Well now that means they can be arrested under the PATRIOT Act (which also applies to Greece because.. well it just does!) Damn terrorists always terroising people with their Puma t-shirts!
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
They could reasonably ban all weapons, for instance, and clothing with patently incendiary and vulgar slogans, but nothing else.
Of course, legally speaking, they can probably do all this and much more outrageous things, but they would probably (at least for now) think that the stink raised wouldn't be worth it.
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
At least in the US it isn't.
The only thing we can't get access to is video clips. All the actual sports results are reported on every website imaginable as they happen, including NBC's.
So it isn't an information embargo, it's only an embargo on video clips. And I have to say that this doesn't seem unusual to me. This is the same with other sports in the US. If you don't have rights to an event, you can report on the score as it goes, but you can't air clips of it until it ends.
So, it being a private enterprise, the IOC could deny you for any reason, even taboo ones (race, nationality.)
And face boycotts like those of the early 1980s.
The IOC is not democratic nor accountable to anyone
It's accountable to governments who can choose to boycott the Games; see also the early 1980s.
You are not permitted to use the word "Olympics" unless you're the IOC or licencee thereof, by international treaty, as a commercial name.
It's one of a few special names, like "NASA", that has greater piveledges than even the strongest of trademarks.
Need Mercedes parts ?
this story reminds me of the novel "jennifer government" where the corporations are run like a psuedo goverment and people's last names are whatever company they work for. hence the title "jennifer goverment". Maybe we'll see this in sports soon! Mark Coke wins the Gold!
You know who else enforced advertising in a militaristic fashion? And preferred Coke above all other liquid refreshment? That's right, HITLER!
Do I win?
maybe it's high time that the Olympics should be dumped. it has lost all it's meaning, it's all about blood sucking these days. the athletes and the public are the ones whose blood is been sucked. over the years my interest in this event is dwindling, to the point where i do not have the stomach to watch any of the events in the current one. is there an Olympic? well i couldn't care less. sorry if any one was offended.
show the olympics that physical repulsiveness is an alternative to fitness. Get extremely fat, then say to those olympic assholes "my keg is bigger (hence better) than your 6-pack". Most slashdot readers are well on their way to saving the whales.
Fascism, as introduced by Mussolini, is corporate government. At the olympics, they've used sports to morph patriotism to corporatism, so enemy corporations are excluded from the sponsor's territory.
--
make install -not war
I don't know a lot about how the Olympic Games work, but is there anyone that makes money off the event (besides the sponsors I mean) or is it a non-proffit event where all the sponsor cash is funnelled into the game?
If it's non-proffit, I think I'd be OK with the (admittedly agressive) tactics to pacify the sponsors, but only to a point. There needs to be some reasonable "ground rules" of just how far the IOC can go to make their sponsors happy. Telling me I can't bring a can of pepsi onto the grounds because their sponsor doesn't want that is, as everyone knows, just plain silly.
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I'm not totally sure I get all the bitching and whining about the "spirit" of the games. The olympic games are thought to have evolved from greek funeral games, which were athletic competitions put on by the wealthy to honour the passing of a (rich) relative. The more money thrown at the games and the athletes, the more athletes were attracted, and the better the fame and glory attributed to the athletes and to the beloved (rich) dead. In other words, if you were rich, and you wanted a memorial for your loved one, you bought some advertising. As far as I can tell, it's always been about money, fame, and advertising from the start. How is this really that different from today?
"I thought they were the dominant species..."
lol@fark reference
Noham Tsomsky seems right after all. The general shift of the current world system is to grand more and more rights to corporations creating these monstrous entities that are very hard to contain or control.
If we take it a bit further, then we realize that the western world's democratic process has granted citizenship to these conglomerates of power and influence but has granted them with different rules of responsibilities.
If I don't pay my electric bill on time they will charge me a fee, if they don't refund my money back for whatever reason, it was a computer error and they will fix it next month... interesting!
Yam, yam, uga booga, yam, yam, yade, yade, uga booga, yam, yam, yade, yade
First panel:
Scene: Guy in suit, labeled "Official Olympics Sponsors," hands closed briefcase with cash sticking out to military-looking guy labeled "Olympics Security," and telling him, "Make sure we're protected against every possible threat."
Second panel:
Scene: spectator entrance/security checkpoint for the Athens Olympics. Two lines of people visible.
Line 1: Armed military-looking guards labelled "Brand Police" surrounding a guy wearing a [non-sponsor-logoed non-threatening item, like a jacket], who has his hands up. Line of spectators behind him long and unmoving. Large trash can next to guards piled high with non-sponsor-logoed items.
Line 2: Line of people carrying weapons that have had official sponsor logos added to them (e.g. a McDonald's knife, an explosives vest with the Adidas logo on it) breezing through checkpoint without so much as a glance from the Brand Police.
This is nothing new to us Greeks who watch the whole thing closely here in Athens.
:-|
Friends of mine who work at Olympic-related services are not allowed to bring to work a bag of food that has the name of a rival company of McDonalds. They are instructed by security officers to use simple white bags without these logos!
People who go at the games are not allowed to bring cell phones or coins with them, for the sake of "safety". Also they are not allowed to wear something that bears a trademark of a company that is a competitor to the official sponsors.
All the non-olympic-sponsors ads at the Metro have been taken off. Similarly for ads on important roads and avenues, especially the ones where there are venues such as the Marathon and the street cycling.
Yes, it's crazy alright, together with the whole story about the linking policy to the Athens 2004 Web site which was mentioned in a previous story, which reminded me of something that happened sometime a year ago. Some kids in an hi-school made a web site about the Olympics. Their mistake? They used the official "Athens 2004(TM)" logo, which the Organizing Committee had said that they will "defend" it at all costs. Well, they took those kids' web site down, because of unauthorized trademark use.
"Olympic Spirit...
However, let me add that the atmosphere here in Athens is FWIW pretty damn good. Even though most of the people are on vacation, as it happens in every August in this city, (and because of that the traffic is very light and it takes me 15' - 20' to get to work instead of the ususal 30'-45'), the happenings in every corner of the city, the visitors of every nation and culture, and the games themselves give the city a very nice atmosphere. Together with all the road works and all that have finally finished, it feels like a much better and humane city... even though we are going to pay for it for a lot of years to come...
> if you wear something like an Adidas shirt for
> example, and Nike is a sponsor and Adidas is not,
> they will confiscate it. Frankly, I would flat out refuse.
Don't! Just give them the rest of your clothes too. If you are not allowed to wear clothes made by Adidas, why should you be allowed to wear clothes you got at the Old Navy, or Target, or Salvation Army? Those companies probably did not contribute to the Olympics either. The only safe way is going in your birthday suit, which is the only thing truly your own (for now).
It seems that even the president is trying to cash in on the Olympics in ways that may not be legit. Especially considering that there is an act of Congress that grants exclusive use of the term Olympics to the USOC and states that it "shall be non-political and may not promote the candidacy of any individual seeking public office."
Well, if you're stupid enough to pay to be a walking billboard for a corporation I say let 'em confiscate your expensive $150 corporate logo shirt. The confiscated shirts, hats, shoes and other floating billboard paraphernalia could be donated to the underpaid sweatshop workers who made them for a few cents an hour.
But I think they should apply the policy equally: confiscate walking-billboard clothing from official sponsors as well. I'm sure if they keep up this policy for future olympics, spectators will be abandoning branded clothing very quickly
Nowhere in the articles does it say "advertising terrorism." The submitter thought it up.
Does this mean I can't wear my X Games t-shirt?
...it was the coach.
The bottles were labelled acme steroids.
Methinks paragon_au just put that in there to get a rise out of knee-jerk, I didn't RTFA slashdotters. No one "official" ever used the term Advertising Terrorism.
"Avoid employing unlucky people - throw half of the pile of CVs in the bin without reading them." -- David Brent
...one day the ridiculous and far fetched 1950's communist propaganda version of western capitalism might come true.
This is highly characteristic of the new, economy-driven order of things.
Sovereign multinational corporations and their alliances are the new, intricate governmental system.
Intangible intellectual and even visual properties are the new Land or Gold. Strikingly, it is the countries running under the newest, most 'democratic' systems that are most overtaken by this new order. In a way, it is the inevitable conclusion of a tyranny-of-the-majority system: ownership of the public mindspace makes democracy, in the end, impossible. Consent is, as Chomsky realized several decades ago, a manufacturable product; it is, in fact, power itself.
Art Schools Dietzilla
a friend of mine asked if I'd seen the opening ceremony. "To what?" I wondered. Took me a few to realize it was about the Olympics. It had slipped my mind completely.
Ambush marketing - a term often hissed in industry circles - occurs when one brand pays to become an official sponsor of an event (most often athletic) and another competing brand attempts to cleverly connect itself with the event, without paying the sponsorship fee and, more frustratingly, without breaking any laws.
Listening to these marketroids whining about "ambush marketing" is like listening to one rotten, crooked thief complaining that another rotten, crooked thief knocked off a bank first, thus depriving the first robber of his hard-earned, well-deserved chance to steal everyone's money.
Bunch o' evil bastards, the whole lot of them. Then they have the audacity to claim that "such tactics 'lack decency and creativity'", as if plastering their own ads everywhere improves the quality of public life.
I'm also disgusted by the mention of the fact that "ambush marketing cases are rarely actionable". I just love that word, "actionable", as a euphemism for "we're going to sue the pants off you". It's like that annoying kid you grew up with who always went crying to Mommy whenever anyone displeased him.
Friggin' marketroids...
We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from the machinations of the wicked.
Yeah but the people in office better have a good excuse to the companies that put them in office. When they tell them they won't be making all that money after their products are advertised, they'd be pretty pissed off.
I'm not trolling, look at the money both parties get from corporations. And if it's off the books, they just imagine a very big number.
The next games will feature the new event where the winner is the first sponsor to make $100,000,000 through sales as a result of the games.
Also: which national chairman will first make $10,000,000 out of back handers in deciding the venue for the next Olympics.
it's sad but unfortunately necessary. it's estimated that the greeks will lose over a billion dollars at these games. and even with the endorsement deals and the tv contracts, the amount of money needed to pull off this spectacle of "pure sport" will exceed will be near another billion. i just hate the commercialism of honest athletics but what's worse is having these contests results contested, overturned, and the winners stripped of their prizes and the viewers left puzzled because of doping, improper judging or worse.
Is it 5:30 yet?
Maybe this is a good thing. The faster and tighter the corporate totalitarian monkeys lock down, the better the chance that people will notice the change and rebel against it. Better than taking generations to slowly pervert the society the way the Olympics have been perverted.
Hey, corporate stooge! Please start banning all unapproved T-shirts (if it doesn't say the home team's name on it, you can't wear it) at baseball games in the US NOW! Think of the advertising revenue!
And think of the anti-corporate backlash it will create, and how desperately needed that is.
--GrouchoMarx
Card-carrying member of the EFF, FSF, and ACLU. Are you?
Cause it's the official operating policy of the Olympic games
When Seattle was looking into the Olympics it became know that many business would be "forced" to give up their name due to the use of Olympic. We've got a fucking Olympic Mountain Range these are named after. But no less, they would be forced to change, by local and state gov't edict.
We never got far enough along to determine if the mountain range would have to be renamed, perhaps they would just blot it out when doing panarama's of Seattle, sounds like it would be considered a terrorist mountainrange.
I supect a few well placed bribes could have mitigated the situation, perhaps a few IOC kids could get free rides to the UW.
perhaps it's time for the olympics to die again for a thousand or so years.
I can't watch cuz I don't have (or want) a TV.
I can't watch cuz I don't have (or want) a VISA card.
So, yeah, dammit, boycott the olympics!
It does piss me off cuz when I was a kid, I could go buy a big ass LA Times and they would have a huge pullout section on the Olympics every day.
Now, unless an American wins, you don't see anything in the paper. If an American does win, you might see a blurb about it.
Watching the collapse of America, from the inside, sucks ass. This country is heading in every possible wrong direction, simultaneously. Maybe we should get a Gold medal for being an olympic-class fuckup of a country.
Not being able to take your own food into a theater, concert, game is also wrong. Regardless of the event or location.
As long as you pay for entrance the event, and don't make a mess, they shouldn't have those restrictions.
And before you say they *have* to in order to make a profit, drive-ins still allow you to carry your own food in... And they arent exactally loosing money due to it.
It might reduce profit due to the outrageous prices they charge for food, but it wont put them out of business. Besides, most people wont bring their own and just buy what is convenient anyway. But it would make for happier customers as they would have a choice..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
You mean there are really people actually going to Athens to see this travesty? Guess P.T. Barnum was right after all.
Why do they make the medal winners wear those stupid olive branches? It's not like the Olympics were invented in Greece.
I think the reason they don't want you to bring coins is for your safety. What if you man drop a coin on the ground? Then when you bend over to pick it some Greek may take that as an invitation.
The article is about "stealth advertising," which is exactly what the parent was parodying. Hooray for clueless mods.
Typical day on /.:
/.:
"Hey, keep your damn ads off the web."
"Damn corporations are everywhere. Get the hell out of here, kill them all."
"What right do corporations have to commercial speech?"
---------------------
For one day only on
"Hey, what right does the IOC have infringing the rights of coroprations to freely advertise?"
Am I the only one who sees the irony here?
It wouldn't have been so bad if they just banned all brand names, but allowing only coke is a greedy decision to protect their interests.
will want to attend these types of events with t-shirts bearing only one letter, and arrange themselves linearly according to whatever they want to say.
I don't even bother watching olympics anymore.. it's not really clean.. it's polluted with advertiser dollars.
-- I am. Therefore, I think!
How about that disgusting NBC logo that flies in after the Olympic logo after every scene change? It's white and blurry, and is almost hypnotic. I feel like I'm getting a stamp on my forehead evertime they do a scene change.
LS
There is a fine line between being a cultivated citizen and being someone else's crop. - A. J. Patrick Liszkie
because Linux shirts are never clean.
I just love doublethinking a bit every now and then.
1. Olympic games are about participation, not winning. They are about fairness, so doping is evil.
2. News about your national medal tally are the most important thing on TV during the games. The teams and the sportsmen should do everything in order to win.
3. Atlanta games were bad because the organisers cared only about profits - national government should support the games for the reason of national prestige.
4. Every last cent must be squised from the ad and broadcast rights.
Oh, was it quadruplethinking? Sorry.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
.... all you swimmers would have told the suits to go stuff themselves and refused to swim in the meet then.
You never know until you try. A few weeks before I grauduated high school I just got annoyed, just on general principles, over the stupid dress code. It's not like I wanted to wear something totally obscure and weird, I just thought it was stupid, so I organized a boycott, I went first, just stopped going to school. Within two days, over 1/3rd of the school stopped going to school, and the ones who went just sort of sat there and talked, etc, paid no attention to anything else. They changed the dress code to "no" dress code of note the next day. Had an emergency school board meeting and everything. Large school, too, around 2,000 students. No one liked the code, I kept thinking "we don't like it, why do we put up with it?". So, I just went for it, and it didn't hurt being the #3 person academically either, with zero bad record. My main beef was I wanted to wear a short sleeve shirt, and not tucked in, in the real hot weather (no AC in that school it got stifling hot). So one thing led to another, I tried asking politily first, that didn't work, then several of us did, that didn't work, so I just started the boycott-THAT worked, and I was prepared to suffer any retaliation. I had double the credits needed to graduate anyway, so I wasn't worried about it to much.
I think people in general are too afraid to stand up for common sense and "rightness", they get conditioned by society to not rock the boat, to conform, to obey your "superiors" or something. It wasn't a big thing, but to this day it's the only thing I am really proud of with my school career, all the rest was just work.
Maybe all the stadiums are empty because all the spectators were turned away for wearing Polo(TM) shirts?
I mean, really. As a more-or-less private entity, the IOC cand do whatever it wants in terms of allowing people into venues, etc. But they have turned the whole spectacle into little more than a giant advertising venue, and that has made me lose interest in the whole deal. I saw it really start to go wrong back with the flap over whether some of the original US Dream Team could wear Reebok clothes (who sponsored those athletes) or would be forced to wear Nike jumpsuits (who sponsored the Olympics). The more the IOC does this, the fewer people will be willing to turn out and attend.
I reccomend a man in a tutu with ads on his chest...
-QTone
I'd rather say, that this is a display of how Western Culture is becoming Brand Culture.
I mean, corporation logos became a normal part of our enviroment. They are everywhere. People are used as a walking ads.
I am outraged by the actions of IOC. But let's ask ourselves, how those logos get on people's bags, shirts etc. Those people are not paid for advertising, and yet they are (uncounciously) advertising them.
When in doubt, go to the library. - Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
If you mean the Olympics as we have come to know it will cease without mega-corporate funding (that is, a made-for-tv spectacle, rampant with curruption and greed) then, I agree with you. I'm not sure that would be a bad thing.
If you mean the Olympics as they were meant to be, an international athletic competition, then I think they would do just fine.
There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
They've been doing this from atleast the 1996 games in Atlanta, I don't know about before then, but I know atleast from 96' on they haven't let Pepsi inside. Now the whole fighting terrorism is new news to me.
...but at least he wasn't American.
You have to keep these things in perspective.
"Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive" -- hey, that's me!
to the promoters and "marketing protection squads," the games ceased long ago to be anything other than a way to make lots of profits.
You idiot, why should they pay the bills if there's nothing in it for them? I don't see millions of undergraduate socialists and anti-globalization witch-doctors lining up to pay for the games out of their own pockets (or, more accurately, their parents' pockets). You're just sitting on your fat white ass whining about how people should give you a more appetizing handout.
Tough shit, you slithering parasite. Tough shit.
....covered with a a thin veneer of flag-waving, bless-my-country-and-fuck-yours nationalism.
To me, there was no way they could ever get worse-- until they decided to split up the summer and winter games. Now, I get angry about practically everything else on the planet taking a backseat to this charade every other year, instead of every four years-- and each time, the Olympics as a whole become even more of a farce than the previous time. I honestly don't know how they manage to outdo themselves, but they do.
The one thing that has made me smile this year, though, is the stellar performance of USA Basketball-- multimillion-dollar crybabies getting their asses handed to them by teams from countries where "stuff scratched out of the dirt" is considered a food group. I don't watch the games, but I can't miss the headlines about it as I scan the paper for Legitimate News.
It's bad enough I cant watch the superior coverage of the olympics legaly here in the USA due to similar contracts.
Here is a free prediction. By 2008 wireless broadband Internet will become even more widespread. Phones will get decent video cameras. Cameras will get excellent video cameras. People at the games will actually create a lot of footage and some will immediately release it online. The IOC will attempt to ban this (will they try to confiscate all phones and cameras? May be), but even for those totalitarian fascists it will be difficult to fight 5 million people watching the games at the same time. So expect to see free and original online coverage in 2008.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
I clearly saw that Phelps guy with an iPod. He's got cash, time for the fines!
Where is all the money the IOC collects going, anyway? It's board must make a TON of dough.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Here's the proof:
Ambush, or guerilla, marketing is as undeniably effective as it is damaging, attracting consumers at the expense of competitors, all the while undermining an event's integrity and, most importantly, its ability to attract future sponsors.
So these events are not worthwhile in and of themselves. They are only worthwhile if a sponsor thinks they can make money off of sponsoring it.
I've been saying sports are not worthwhile since I was in high school, and people beat me up for it. Maybe I should have gong into marketing.
Edith Keeler Must Die
the olympics, that great world symbol of peace and ... capitalism! :)
During the Cricket World Cup in 1999(held in England), Coke was the *OFFICIAL* sponsor. Pepsi ran a ambush marketing campaign which ran circles around
the Coke Campaign - i.e. Pepsi signed up big cricket stars & ran numerous ads with the tagline "Nothing official about it" & this proved very successful.
Hence during the next cricket world Cup in 2003 (held in South Africa), the ICC (International Cricket committee) went out of their way to avoid ambush marketing of this sort. All cricket players playing in the World Cup were forced to avoid any ads, logos etc of competing sponsors during the games. People watching the games in the stadium were told not to wear clothes with logos of competing brands etc.
Finally, a realistic response! Whose event is it? The IOC's! Who gets to decide which advertising contract to sign? They do!
Did they -have- to offer the current Gestapo-esque logo placement to Coke? No! They could have said "Piss off, its a free country and the athletes can have Pepsi on the field if they want."
That they did not do that should tell you a great deal about the IOC and the people who run it. In fact they probably suggested it to Coke, not the other way around.
Coke is an American company. Does Coke really want to be associated with police state tactics, particularly at the Olympics? I think not.
As far as the IOC is concerned the athletes have no rights. They exist for the sole purpose of enriching the IOC and its contituent gratuity seeking, slime mold apparatchiks. These people don't walk, they glide on an extruded layer of mucous.
What political system is that kind of thing most closely identified with? Give you a hint, it starts with an "S", ends with "ocialism".
I bet the North Korean and Chinese teams feel right at home.
Am I the only one who wants to get a bunch of people together wearing color coordinated outfits so that when we sit in the stands we form a giant pepsi logo?
The IOC doesn't restrict its censorship to corporate interests -- it also meddles in the political sphere. Amidst all the flag-waving you see going on -- US flags, Russian flags, Greek flags, Chinese flags, flags from every country with representatives in the games -- there is one flag you WON'T see -- Taiwan's. Why? Because it makes Beijing unhappy. At the Atlanta games -- smack in the middle of the "Land of the Free" -- three friends of mine were removed for displaying a Taiwanese flag at an event in which Taiwanese athletes were competing. This year, while watching, for example, the archery competition (the only event in which Taiwan medaled), Taiwanese spectators were waving IOC-issued flags to replace the Taiwanese flags they had brought. The IOC is not merely a corporate puppet -- it's a political lackey as well. Lee Kaiwen, Taiwan
"terrorism" is a big word, with serious implications. nowhere in the article referenced in the "advertising terrorism" link did the words "terrorism" or even "terror" occur. so please, let's keep the polemic and hyperbole to a minumum. the issue is serious and interesting enough to stand on it's own; there's no need to go foaming about at the mouth.
As some of you already know, recently an online casino, GoldenPalace.com, put up money to fund the da Vinci project's X-Prize attempt. The project is now known as "The Golden Palace.Com Space Program". It seems that a couple days ago, GoldenPalace.com had some more publicity, with a man in a tutu, with "Golden Palace.com" written across his chest, jumping into the pool during an Olympic diving final.
BBC article link.
The attire part has been a part of large sporting events for DECADES, this is nothing new. Ever been to a NASCAR event? the Indy 500? These most always involve lots of tobacco and beer sponsors, and there have long been people hanging around these events whose entire job it is to locate people wearing competitor's logos and "incentivize an exchange of logos" - meaning if you show up at the Busch 500 you may or may not get in the door wearing that budweiser cap.
In "the old days" it was a bit more free market - those folks might not call the cops, they would just pressure you to switch. Maybe offer you a new Busch cap in exchange for your old Bud cap. Or maybe offer you a few bucks to make the trade for the day. Maybe literally just buy the shirt off your back so you won't have it to wear any more.
Now imagine sponsors trying to cover an event like the Olympics using these sales tactics. It would cost a fortune for the sponsors, which makes an Oympic sposnsorship much less of a value - and it means the sponsors are now paying even more employees to "police the grounds" which, given the number of sponsors, would mean an army of corporate hucksters pestering you every fifty feet about changing some part of your personal demeanor. Quite frankly I'm not a great fan of the Olympics (the only Summer event I ever liked was women's gymnastics, and the US has succesfully shot that event to hell with its feminist lobbying of the rules comittees about "little girls being forced to grow up" and American television's prudish editing of the coverage) but these logo rules sure seem to make sense when you look at things from the POV of real life in the modern world.
Does no one remember the fury of the "ringside" banners at the Summer Olympics when Nadya Comaneci was the darling of the event? For years sponsors like Danskin and Brook had banners hung on the sides of barriers, but when Gymnastics became a major event it became clear these banners were essentially "free" worldwide advertising so they changed the rules to forbid them unless they were part of a paid placement. If your goal is to earn money for your investors and protect your brand, duh, this is a no brainer.
Seems to me this is part of the bargain you make when you agree to be part of a corporate event. This isn't fascism unless you are FORCED by your local governance to attend the events; if you don't like the corporate policy, stay the fuck home and don't give them your money.
This is just the latest moronic move made by the IOC and/or the individual city Olympic committees.
:/
I remember, in the roll-up to the '96 games in Atlanta (where I used to live), the local OC started going after companies that had the word "olympic" in the name. The best one was a car garage that had been around for decades - I forget the entire name but the main word in the garage's name was "Olympic". Absolutely nothing to do with sports - it was a repair shop! - but they were jacked over and (IIRC) forced to change the name they'd done business under for years - about as long as the head of the local OC had been *alive*.
Yaaaaaaaayyyy, CAPITALISM!
"People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
Why bother? It's a commercial enterprise which has absolutely nothing to do with the original concept of the Games - which was meaningless then.
What does the Games do that simply reporting the fact that so-and-so just jumped further than anybody else in history in his local gym?
Who cares?
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
Using "Coke day" "Pepsi shirt" school gives you a page full of relevant results.
Methinks paragon_au just put that in there to get a rise out of knee-jerk, I didn't RTFA slashdotters.
I put that in there as an allusion to the ever present emphasis at big events to police the spectators to prevent "real" terrorism. The articles are quite good, I suggest you check them out !
No one "official" ever used the term Advertising Terrorism.
Actually, I'm quite official ! I have a driver's license AND a SS Card
thnx
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."--Benjamin Franklin
Money is power.
Power corrupts.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The Olympics are the most powerful and wealthiest "sports" organization.
They are also absolutely corrupt and disgustingly so.
However, it fits in well with all the other corrupted institutions.
IMHO, overly affluent people are completely evil. Period.
It's all about greed and self service. There is no sportmanship or responsibility at the highest levels.
Yup, we truly get the institutions we deserve. Thanks eh.
Words to men, as air to birds.
Now available with steroids ...
Research seems split 50/50 whether being a buttpirate is nurture or nature. All the music twinks in my college would hook up with chicks if the were drunk so I'm pretty sure they had a choice.
Blar.
They quit...the IOC kept demanding more and more and the business guys decided it wasn't worth it. You wouldn't believe the kinds of things I heard about the corruption and graft that went on. It was like living in Communist Russia...couldn't get anything done without greasing someone in the IOC's palm
Blar.
Most civilized countries nowadays have the infrastructue to stage the sports that form the Olympic games.
It is the IOC with its insane demands (like onerous infrastructure that is not needed at all) who is driving costs up, thus demanding sponsors.
Security is certainly required, but most of the cost is spent in new, normally unnecessary venues, and white elephants that benefit nobody not in security.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
What if I wanted to wave a flag with a big yellow smiley face on it? I bet you it would be allowed. Why the hell then restrict the Taiwanese flag?
Last I knew the flag didn't have to be a national flag.
Parent DID say that heterosexualtiy was promoted on MTV. He said that the only thing they allow in MTV is sex, heterosexual, homosexual. That was his beef; he wasn't even picking on the homosexuals. Go back and read it again.
----- Question authority, but not ours. Hate the man, but we're not him.
So what is you wear the wrong type of sportshoes? Are they from you aswell?
I heard rumors about a preselection of the appropriate sportsmen that fit the sponsering companies image...
Privacy is terrorism.
Never would have happened here in Adelaide, Australia though, shorts are permitted at school. Admittedly, they do (or used to) send you home early if the temperature goes past 38C, I'm sure that has nothing to do with shorts though :-) (last Summer we had the hottest recorded temporature for many years - 44.1 C, and this is in a major capital city. Youch, that was hot! The coldest day on record in recent years was 9 C. I like living here because summer is hot, and winter is relatively cold.)
The Internet's nature is peer to peer - 20050301_cs_profs.pdf
However, it's a bigger problem that monoliths can actually look at dropping millions for product placement as a good investment.
Stories like this make me feel like I'm living in a fucking loony box, and the inmates have taken over - who the fuck really eats at MCD's because of this "I'm lovin it" shit? Who the hell really felt a little tingle up their spine when they saw the "our best is serving the world's best" ads? If you raised your hand, please, shoot yourself.
The most amazing thing about advertising is that it actually works. I didn't buy an ipod because 50 Cent had one in one of his shitty videos. I bought an ipod because of the word of mouth endorsements from *gasp* private individuals.
Likewise, I'd like to know how many people are really going to buy Nike, now that they are the "official" sponsors. It's not like the horde of 10 year olds that wanted Air Jordans because MJ had em. I, for one, couldn't give a flying fuck what Michelle Kwan wears. It's not that "consumers are confused" as to who the Olympic bribe...er..."sponsors" are, it's that they simply don't give a shit.
In the end, the joke is on the corporations - at least, on the apparel side of things. I couldn't care less about athletes, but I can at least name the more prominent ones. I know who Kobe Bryant is, I know who A-Rod is, I know who Michael Vick is. I would suggest that the average person, the type of mindless fuck who would buy something based on what he/she saw on TV, can't name 10 Olympians. I can name Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding for all the wrong reasons. I can name Michelle Kwan because she was the Asian eye candy of choice elevated by the powers-that-be. I can name Kurt Angle because of his WWE deal.
Now, here's an even bigger challenge for the average person - name 10 Olympians involved with THIS Olympiad. The average person can't. That kind of hurts MJ-style endorsement deals, based upon the will to emulate the athlete, when you don't even know who the fuck the athlete is!
Still, it's disgusting to know that even one person has changed their preference from Burger King to MCD's, based upon the Olympic marketing. It's sad that someone, somewhere, will go out of their way to buy Coke instead of Pepsi, because "that's what the Olympic people drink!"
It's all around us - the Nvidia/ATI scams. The Coke "real" commercials that imply you'll get teased by a hot beachcomber chick if you only drink their carbonated voodoo potions. The entirety of the fucking Superbowl. It's getting to a point where there is no more "product," only advertising. It's already gotten to a point where they are actually advertising for advertising! Don't buy it? Think of this - MTV's business model is based upon advertising both products and new "stars," who then advertise new "products" to make the majority of their livelyhood. MTV advertises Britney Spears, Britney advertises Pepsi, Pepsi advertises their tie-in deal-of-the-week; it's a never ending cycle of madness, and it's baffling how anyone ever makes any money!
While playing in a pep band at the NCAA First/Second round tourney in Orlando we had to pour the Powerade we brought in into Dasani cups. What is crazy is that they are both freaking Coke products!
It's recognised enough to be allowed to compete as a separate country.
Consistency is important. If you let Taiwan compete, it shoudl be able to use its flag. If you don't recognise it as a country, don't let it compete as one.
Yes, it is there place, but as a business they should strive to make happy customers, and not forcing them to overpay for crappy snacks would go a long way towards that goal.
As far as myself, that is one reason I don't go. Another is the general inconvenience to be on their schedule, and having to deal with small chairs, rude patrons.. etc...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
First of all, I know I won't even think about attending the Olmypics, even if they were giving tickets away... They can fill the stadium with bags of cash.
It's funny... Get rid of the crowds, and I bet you'll see the Olmypics go downhill, fast. They won't get a billion dollars from NBC, just because they are trying to squeeze another few hundred dollars out of the crowd. Nice move, IOC.
It's kind of ironic, really. Although they don't like to talk about it, the roots of the Olymics are Hitler, and pre-WWII Nazi Germany, not ancient Greece. I suppose these strong-arm money-grubbing tactics are kind of appropriate, given the origin.
It's not as if the Olympics have a corner on international competition. If they turn to dust, it wouldn't be difficult for another group to start over, and I can't imagine how they could make it any worse than the current olmypics...
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
It's scary how quickly people read one article and start talking of disbanding and boycotting.
I am working at the Olympics and have been to 7 or 8 events as a spectator (just got back from the beach volleyball quarter finals). I have never been hassled for any of the stuff listed. Never have I seen anybody have something taken away for logos.
When I went to boxing (just recently), they did hold my umbrella, but it was completly black. I believe it was because it was a very small venue and they were worried fans might accidentally obstruct the cameras.
The venues are completely logo free.
Seriously, though, the first thing I did on reading the summary was RTFA and check for use of the word terrorism or terror. Not mentioned once. Too bad we can't moderate articles (and editors) -1 TROLL.
Not only do these articles have nothing to do with terrorism, they're essentially about people being unhappy with contracts (the terms and conditions associated with tickets purchaed for Olympic events) they entered into of their own free will. And, no, I don't think not being able to wear a PUMA shirt to or eat a Burger King Whopper at an Olympic Event is some horrible suppression of speech (although the irony of forcing people to eat McDonalds food at events that are all about people in absolutely peak physical condition is priceless - whoops used a MasterCard trademarked word to discuss a Visa-sponsored event).
In any case, get over it already people. Take some personal fucking responsibility.
Slashdot: News for whiners, stuff that makes me roll my eyes (at least in this case).
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
Your argument is extremely weak. In Canada we have provinces and sometimes you'll see some of our provincial flags being waved around a Olympic events. I would be quite offended if the IOC forcibly removed someone for displaying one of our provincial flags. Why should it be any different for someone from a pseudo-country like Taiwan? If Kaiwen is right about this policy, then this is indeed quite disturbing behaviour by the IOC.
Kathy Freeman carried an Australian Aboriginal flag when she won the 400 m sprint at the Commonwealth Games in 1998. She was threatened with all sorts of things if she did it again, but she told all the powers that be to get stuffed. She impressed the said powers so much that she was chosen to light the cauldron at the Olympics.
And then she won the 400 in Sydney, and did it again. Most Australians regard her as a hero. Telling the powers that be to get stuffed is a great Australian tradition.
Cogito, ergo sig.
Telling the powers that be to get stuffed is a great Australian tradition.
:P
Disagreeing with the powers that be was what got a lot of them there in the first place.
is there nothing that does not reek with the stench of hyper-corporatism?
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
We have idly sat by watching our teams venues get renamed for companies. We have 3Com Park, Nationwide Arena, PNC Park, Heinz Field, USAir Arena...anyone remember when our teams played in the Igloo, Thre Rivers Stadium, Riverfront Stadium, Candlestick Park....names that had meaning. Now if the team doesn't like the renewal deal, then they will rename the park after the next company willing to lay the bucks down to name the stadium. It's sick and I am getting tired of it...
In NASCAR, the drivers hare knocking down and blocking bottles set on top of the car that belong to the race sponser because one of their associate sponsers is Coke. Knocking down Tropicana bottles and etc. Their car's are emblazoned with logos and sometimes they get special paint schemes for one race deals and the like. NASCAR itself has a official hotel, a official drink, a official fuel and I am sure a official water. When does it stop?
Clean venues should be against the law as they restrict freedom. Freedom to wear whatever logo you'd like. To bring in a pepsi if you don't like coke. To let the athelete's drink whatever drink they want. The Olympics used to be one of the few events we have now where the athlete's did not care about what water they were drinking or whatever. I think one thing I would like right now is a list of these sponsers so I know who's stuff not to drink for this infraction on anyone's freedoms. Maybe this policy may be why the olympic venue's are not selling out.
Itg is even bad at the local levels now....where I work, when I started 10 years ago, they had pepsi AND coke in the cafeteria. Now, their's only pepsi on campus. Pepsi is our official drink. Well piss on that...I bring in what I want...water or tea.
Gorkman
If they are homeless, fed and have shelter they do not care if you are calling it a concentration camp.
Peace signs, protest lines, meaning nothing to me.
Well if they all ran Linux they would be happeir at the IOC and woudl not do this.
I guess this logo I made is even more fitting after reading this story.
It started back in Team Fortress Classic
Wouldn't Washington state have to rename their capital (Olympia), too? Am I allowed to bring an Olympus camera to the Olympics? No, I haven't been happy since the IOC sued the "Gay Olympics" into changing their name, but never when after the "Special Olympics". Somehow I don't think it should be legal to trademark a 3000-year old word that was already in common usage before you decided to use it. What next -- applying for a copyright on the Ten Commandments?
well, since I used to play Taekwondo, in the Olympics and all major Taekwondo competitions, competitors are required to cover the brand logos on the uniform they wear, it really looks ugle, I hated that.
"Evil thrives when good men do nothing"
They are trying to monopolize on the free spirit of Olympics. I'll buy someone elses product. Centorship of brands.
Your argument is extremely weak.
No its not, you dumbass. If someone from Alberta competes in the Olympics, its for Canada and the Canadian flag is flown. If someone from Taiwan competes in the Olympics, its for Taiwan, not China. If they can compete as a seperate country, why can't they fly their sperate country's flag?
You see, You can't have it both ways: You can not get to be the power in the Australia if you are the one telling them to stuff it. Therefore, Australia's "power" are certainly not rebellious, and those Ozzies who are, never get to power!
The IOC did think about the billboards near the venues, and about what spectators wear and eat, but they completely forgot the advertisements on web sites reporting about the Olympics!. And it's always the the usual suspects!
But "God" as in the Christian God, was still around before Christ (AD 0 let's say), as Yahweh, God of Israel, the one true god, the GREAT I AM.
This was several thousand years BC.. So Yes, He was around before the Olympics..
Having said that, he was around before everything, as one of his names is "The Alpha and The Omega" - the begining and the end.. ie. there throughout, before and after ALL time.
Yup, I did years ago. I never buy clothes with any visible company logo on them. Damned if I'll pay over-inflated prices just to advertise the very company that is ripping me off to fund their high-profile sponsorships and saturation marketing.
~ Better a freak than a sheep. ~
I was in Berlin when the torch came through, and was in the area when it was coming through so I decided to watch.
First came 2 vehicles, one blaring music the other filled with people. At a big crowd the people got out and started to pass around signs and other swag loaded with the sponser names. Also the vehicles were covered with the name of the sponsers.
A few mins later came another vehicle load with cameras which the torch carrier ran behind, cameras focused on the running and the crowd. Vehicle covered with ads.
A little distance behind that came the bus which carried the family members. They got out when they switched carriers and would be in the pictures. No ads besides the company that owned the bus.
Following that was a bus with the new runners and to pick up the retired runner. This had its fill of olympic and sponser ads.
Then behind that came the trash vehicles, to collect all the swag and sign no ditched. Standard city of Berlin marking.
Following that was a black hearse. Just black no ads. Kind of sure it was not with the torch carriers but worth a good laugh.
It's absurd that McDonald's and Coke are major advertisers of the olympics. These two companies have nothing to do with athleticism; they are the opposite. I think it is offensive that they are even allowed to associate with the olympics. And while I'm ranting, why is there still a Dream Team in the olympics, when by the way they are playing they apparently have been eating too much McDonald's.
But to hear people talk, one would think that the current administration *was* the first... maybe tone down the Chicken Little attitude a bit? That would be a good start to your message being taken seriously.
(in re china & slashdot:) This is no different though, except the control isn't in the hands of a political party, but a few greedy corporations.
haven't we been pretty well shown that increasingly, the distinction between a company (or group of) and a government is essentially nil?
the truth is, im a little surprised that anyone is terribly concerned about this... i don't expect any different from my government, and i don't expect any different from a large compnay...
to attempt to argue for a moment that the olympics (or the super bowl, or the latest broadway or east-end show, or rock concert) should be totally free from gestapo defense of where the money is coming from is rediculous... certainly its an ideal that i support, but i think we all need to grow up and acknowledge that that's the way the world works....
if you don't like it, don't participate in it, that's cool... hell, try to change it- go to law school, vote, shoot a whole mess of people, whatever, but don't act outraged that monied interests are controlling people
this is expected evil behaviour, not anything out of the ordinary
Seeing as the greek armies were spear-based, I'd say the Javelin was probably there a long time ago. The new sports are complicated, judged ones, like synchronized swimming, diving, baseball, etc.
http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2166
"People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
So the Oylmpics are just a drain on resources and a big waste of money.
In the town nearby where I live in Miss, the public school has morning prayer every day led by the teacher in whatever class the students happen to be in. they've been doing this for years and no one has been able to make them stop. Recently a person complained that he did not want his kid saying morning prayers, and threatened to go to the courts to stop it. As a result he was essentially censured by the local community at large. Rather than combat the local bands of zealots any further he's simply packing up his kid and moving.
There are still LOTS of places with blue laws - businesses not allowed to operate on Sundays for whatever stupid reason the local legislators can invent. Many more places don't allow liquor to be sold on Sunday, or to be sold before a certain time - this is quite common, in fact. So where do you think they came up with this notion of Sunday? Why not make it Thursday or Friday?
This is absolutely a chrisitan nation, and always has been. Better get that rifle ready.
>>Telling the powers that be to get stuffed is a great Australian tradition.
:P
>Disagreeing with the powers that be was what got a lot of them there in the first place.
Once upon a time, this was true of the U.S. as well. Now, we've sold our souls to the company store.
What political system is that kind of thing most closely identified with? Give you a hint, it starts with an "S", ends with "ocialism".
Wrong-oh. Both sides of the political spectrum can ignore citizens' rights, but it's the CAPITALISTS (you know, like where you probably come from) that take away rights and lives for Money.
I bet the North Korean and Chinese teams feel right at home.
They certainly would. Scary part is how much the west (read USA) and authoritarian places (like North Korea, Iraq) are really so damned similar just below the surface.
http://expn.go.com/expn/summerx/2004/index
Check out the X Games. They are smaller, better and less corrupt, although that last part may (will) change with time.
Basically no one I know gives a crap who can run and jump hurdles the fastest, but watching people ride a halfpipe on a bicycle, doing backflips and shit, is just plain fun. So this corporate crap is just the lining in the coffin for me, and to be honest I don't know anyone under about 30 years that really cared about the olympics before.
uh, I agree, that's what I'm saying!! I'm replying to the retard that now got moded to -1 who said they can't.
uh, I agree, that's what I'm saying!! I'm replying to the retard that now got moded to -1 who said they can't.
:-)
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Sorry about that, I browse at 0 so I thought you were the jerk. Looks like you're not the one who's a dumbass today.
I mean the IOC is pretty draconian... but... this has nothing to do with online rights...
Maybe we need two YROs... YROf and YROn?
As a side note, a friend of mine's father is at the olympics... he says the americans are getting booed pretty heavily, especially when they win.
Just a note to the global community: just because we live here doesn't mean that we approve of the actions our country is taking. And let's be honest, these athletes train all day every day. Once you're on the olympic team the concept of free time goes out the window. Just how much do you believe these people can really influence politics?
I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see that I am serious?!
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/archives/2002/02/1 5/0000124045
The above link is to an article describing incidents of Beijing officials pestering US citizens during the SLC Winter Games two years ago over display of the Taiwanese flag on private property, as well as the incident I mentioned earlier involving some friends who were detained in Atlanta for attempting to wear T-shirts bearing the Taiwanese flag at an Olympic event. From the article:
Lee Kaiwen, Taiwan
"The community" is allowed to believe whatever the fuck they want - but when they start taking my tax dollars to fund their religious indoctrination then they cross ovr that territory into violating federal law. Lots of people down here also believe niggers should still be segregated to their own "communities" and even lynched for cohabitating with white folk - and every single one of them will quote the Christian Bible as justification of their beliefs. I suppose in your world they should likewise be left to "exercise" these beliefs?
Where the fuck do you see prayer led by teachers in U.S. public school classrooms as a "Constitutional right?"
Idiot.
Tell that to mainland China. Just watch out when they want to drive tanks over you.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
go back to hell, bible-boy.