CENSORING COVERAGE OF AN OLYMPICS NO ONE CARES ABOUT? YES …
We’ve written previously on the debacle that is the games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro. And the lack of interest therein.
Looks like the numbers are bearing this out …
“Olympic athletes have been competing in near-empty venues and before thin crowds in other locations during the opening days of the Rio Games – a problem that can be traced to long security lines, traffic and a lack of familiarity with some sports,” Associated Press reporter Genaro C. Armas noted.
That’s part of it …
According to Armas’ story, recently reduced ticket prices have not resulted in the games selling out. In fact only 82 percent of the five million tickets were sold as of Sunday, he reported.
So some of those empty seats are tickets that were never sold.
Television ratings have also been on the decline – with viewership of Rio’s opening ceremonies falling roughly 30 percent from the 2012 games in London (the games’ worst performance since 1992).
You’d think Olympic organizers would be doing everything in their power to draw attention to the games, right?
Right … but you’d be wrong.
According to Christine Birkner of the website AdWeek, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sent “non-sponsor” companies a nastygram last week “warning them against using the Olympics’ intellectual property.”
“Do not create social media posts that are Olympic themed, that feature Olympic trademarks, that contain Games imagery or congratulate Olympic performance unless you are an official sponsor as specified in the Social Media Section,” the letter warned.
From Birkner’s article, here is a list of restrictions imposed on non-sponsor companies …
1. Businesses can’t use any of the Olympics’ trademarked words or phrases. These terms include:
-Olympic
-Olympian
-Team USA
-Future Olympian
-Gateway to gold
-Go for the gold
-Let the games begin
-Paralympic
-Pan Am Games
-Olympiad
-Paralympiad
-Pan-American
2. You can’t use terms that reference the location of the Olympics, such as:
-Road to Rio
-Road to Pyeongchang
-Road to Tokyo
-Rio 2016
-Pyeongchang 2018
-Tokyo 2020
3. You must not use words that incorporate the word “Olympic,” such as Mathlympics, Aqualympics, Chicagolympics, Radiolympics, etc.
4. You can’t use hashtags that include Olympics trademarks such as #TeamUSA or #Rio2016.
5. You cannot use any official Olympics logos.
6. You cannot post any photos taken at the Olympics. (While not mentioned on the USOC’s brand guidelines site, this rule is mentioned in a letter written by USOC chief marketing officer Lisa Baird and obtained by ESPN.)
7. You can’t feature Olympic athletes in your social posts.
8. You can’t even wish them luck.
9. Don’t post any Olympics results.
10. You can’t share anything from official Olympics social media accounts. Even retweets are prohibited.
11. No creating your own version of Olympic symbols, “whether made from your own logo, triangles, hexagons, soda bottle tops, onion rings, car tires, drink coasters, basketballs, etc.”
12. “Do not host an Olympic- or Paralympic-themed contest or team-building event for employees.”
Wow …
All that’s missing from this list? A pre-crime division at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to police these nefarious non-sponsor organizations ahead of time.
You know … to crack down on them before they can even think of committing the heinous offense of retweeting something about the games, or using onion rings to make the Olympic logo or holding a “Paralympic-themed” team-building event.
We understand the IOC’s need to provide value to its sponsors – and the organization is well within its rights to assign restrictions on content as it sees fit. No one is disputing that.
But this list strikes us as ridiculous …
The good news for “non-sponsors?” No one seems to give a damn about these Olympics …