Olympics marketing logo comes under fire

Posted by: Marketing Guy Date posted: July 23rd, 2008 Published in: Branding

The logo for the London 2012 Olympics does not reflect the identity of the Games, marketers have suggested.  According to a survey commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), more than half (57 per cent) of marketers polled have serious doubts about the logo’s effectiveness.

Only one fifth believe that it works as an advert for one of the most watched sporting events across the globe.

David Thorpe, director of research and information at the CIM, remarks that the logo should convey what a “fantastic showcase” the Games will be for London and the UK.  However, he notes: “The logo should communicate clearly an appealing identity for the games, yet the UK’s marketers are deeply sceptical about its ability to do so.  With the public and marketing professionals set against it, those involved with the Olympic logo have a lot of work to do over the next four years to win them round.”

London 2012 organising committee chairman Seb Coe claimed in an interview with BBC Five Live that the widely criticised emblem was “not a logo” but a brand when it was unveiled last June.

The logo had initially attracted criticism at its launch because of fears that it could trigger epileptic seizures in its animated form, prompting its swift removal from the organisers website.

Looks like “Lisa Simpson getting down and dirty” may not have been the best way to go with the logo! ;)

MG

Comments

  1. Posted by: Marketing Guy Date posted: 23rd July, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    I’ve got to say something else on the “not a logo but a brand” comment. What a load of crap.

    It is a logo – of course it’s a logo – it can’t be anything else but a logo. The brand is “Olympics” which defines the nature of the organisation – the emblem / logo is just an image that represents the brand.

    A brand is (or at least should be) the essence of an organisation. The Google brand is the reason Googlers have access to the 20% time program, some sweet facilties and an original work ethic – the Google logo is something that everyone can indentify and associate with the brand.

    So in that respect, I totally agree with the CiM – the 2012 logo does nothing to promote the Olympics brand (or more specifically, the “London Olympics 2012″ brand) – it’s just the bastard child of unoriginal thought and self indulgent creatives. Despite the importance of the date of the event, it isn’t the most important facet of the brand and as such it really shouldn’t be the focus of the logo.

    The 2012 logo is to other logos what keyword spamming is to creative copywriting IMO.

  2. Posted by: Gary More Date posted: 2nd October, 2008 at 9:22 am

    I think the olympics is a disaster the money which is spent is ridiculous and it should be spent on feeding the homeless!!