Sponsorship Stupidity - The True Olympic's Spirit

The paranoia of Olympics sponsors (when it comes to protecting their "investment" in the London Olympics) knows no bounds.

Last month I wrote:

"There seems to be something of a hissy fit going on between the BOA and the agents of one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics.

The agents of some competitors, who are sponsored by Nike, have told the BOA that athletes would be in breach of contracts if they are forced to wear Team GB’s official ”presentation outfit” which is sponsored by Adidas.

The agents have told the BOA that athletes might have to take off their shoes before mounting the presentation dais.

The BOA have hit back, and said that the rules mean that the athletes must wear the sponsor's (Adidas) footwear at all times."

The issue over footwear won't die down, the Telegraph reports that Aidan Kirkwood (a soldier injured in Afghanistan) was required to cover up the Raebok logo on his trainers with white tape when he appeared at an Olympic torch relay event this week.

There's the true "Olympic spirit" for you, money before sport or community spirit!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Barefoot Athletes

There seems to be something of a hissy fit going on between the BOA and the agents of one of the sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics.

The agents of some competitors, who are sponsored by Nike, have told the BOA that athletes would be in breach of contracts if they are forced to wear Team GB’s official ”presentation outfit” which is sponsored by Adidas.

The agents have told the BOA that athletes might have to take off their shoes before mounting the presentation dais.

The BOA have hit back, and said that the rules mean that the athletes must wear the sponsor's (Adidas) footwear at all times.

What a complete load of old bollocks and fuss over a matter of footwear.

There seems to be too much money and too many corporate egos involved with these games.

As noted many times before, the Olympics are about money not sport!

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.olympicswarehouse.com

www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Appalling Contracts

Some well known British athletes have been told not to sign the new Team 2012 contract, because the drafting of the contract has been deemed by the athletes' lawyers to be "appalling".

The draft contracts propose that athletes promote corporate "partners", selected from a list of 2012 sponsors that includes Lloyds Banking Group, Adidas, EDF Energy and Samsung.

Richard Butcher, a solicitor at Payne Hicks Beach, said that the wording is unclear and appears to limit athletes' ability to arrange their own sponsorship deals.

One agent is quoted in the Guardian:

"Any athlete who sat down and read this properly would have an issue with it.

They're signing their rights away to be used by pretty much whoever."

Olympic Medals won during the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

The "Unseen" Adverts

Amnesty International has managed, rather cleverly, to highlight an issue that vexes them without even resorting to an official advertising campaign.

Amnesty's French offices commissioned TBWA to create a series of adverts highlighting China's alleged human rights abuses, in the run up to the Olympics.

The adverts included images of a man being pushed headfirst into a swimming pool, a policeman walking away from a man who has been shot while lashed to an archery target and a woman chained to a dumbbell in the colours of the Olympic rings.

The tag line is:

"After the Olympic Games, the fight for human rights must go on."

Amnesty in the end decided never to show them, because they were too graphic. However, they were entered for a website competition and inevitably ended up circulating on the web even crossing the Great Firewall of China.

The adverts, despite never being officially shown, have caused a huge amount of controversy in China and resulted in a large amount of publicity for Amnesty.

There is one more irony here.

TBWA, which produced the advertisements, also put together a series of adverts aimed at the Chinese Olympics market, including a series for Adidas featuring local athletes and their fans.

Don't forget to visit www.theolympicswarehouse.com
www.olympicsdiary.com brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Adidas Goes For Gold

The chairman of sportswear manufacturer Adidas-Salomon has said that he is expecting massive growth in the brand's sales in China, as the 2008 Beijing Olympics draws near.



Herbert Hainer, chairman, said:



"You can already feel the anticipation ahead of the 2008 Olympics...In Asia, in four years' time, we will have turnover of two billion euros..."



Adidas is the world's number two sportswear brand, and China and Japan are their second most important markets after the USA.

No Sweat

Those of you who lay in bed at night worrying about where to buy Olympic T shirts and sports products, that have not been produced by "sweat shop" labour, may soon be able to rest a little easier at night.



It is reported that NGO's, such as Oxfam, are increasing the pressure on firms such as Adidas et al to remove the taint of sweated labour.



The campaign "Play Fair at the Olympics", launched earlier this year, highlights the concern of the NGO's that manufacturing firms have been pushing their workers to the limit; in order to stock the shelves in time for the Olympics 2004, which are being held in Athens Greece.



The campaign highlights the wages of those who make these products; eg in Indonesia one company was paying its workers $99 per month for a 16 hour day.



The major companies that produce these articles claim that they have codes of conduct, that cover the ages and working conditions of their workforce. However, enforcing and policing them is difficult.



I would like to offer these companies a little tip; I was directly involved in the development and distribution of the codes of conduct for Philips and De Beers (see my resume), guys you are more than welcome to approach me for advice.