should the olympics be pimped?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

nick mercedes

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
7,106
Location
far far away
Car
Ford Expedition
"Oral-B's official Olympic toothbrush exists because its parent company, Procter & Gamble, has a sponsorship deal enabling it to associate all its products with the Games. That's why if you look up Viakal limescale remover on a supermarket website, the famous five interlocking rings pop up alongside it. This in no way cheapens the Olympic emblem, which traditionally symbolises global unity, peaceful competition and gleaming stainless steel shower baskets.

When you're done sprucing up your teeth and your bathroom, you could further embrace the Olympic spirit by slurping a Coca-Cola (official Olympic drink) followed by a Twirl from Cadbury's (official Olympic snack provider). Or really go the whole hog and polish off a couple of Sausage-and-Egg McMuffins at your local McDonald's (official Olympic restaurant), after which you should be ready to represent Britain in the 400-litre diarrhoea.

I've never understood why firms are prepared to shell out a fortune simply to refer to the Olympics in their advertising, but then I've always been mildly baffled by the popularity of sport full-stop. I also never understood why Gillette paid Tiger Woods, a man famous for hitting balls with a stick, a huge amount of money to promote scraping a bit of sharp metal across your face – only to sideline him when it became apparent that as well as hitting balls with a stick, he had been inserting his penis into as many different women as possible, an aspiration he presumably shared with the vast majority of Gillette's customers.

My natural inclination is to find the wave of "official" branding vaguely sinister, but on reflection it's actually rather touching the way these companies seem to earnestly believe their consumers give a toss. Will anyone in the country choose a Dairy Milk over a Yorkie just because the former has the Olympic rings printed on the wrapper? After all, now that it appears alongside everything from toothbrushes to Viakal, the official Olympic iconography has become just another bit of background visual noise – like the Keep Britain Tidy icon, or a barcode. Your brain filters it out before your mind even notices it was there in the first place. If I was Adidas (official Team GB Olympic outfitters), I'd be furious. At least sportswear has some connection to the traditional Olympic ideal of people from far-flung corners of the Earth engaging in hard physical graft for little financial reward, especially if it turns out it was made in an Indonesian sweatshop.

Instead, the Olympic rings have been whored around so much they've become valueless: a status symbol for a few corporations to tote like a badge for several weeks, impressing almost no one except themselves. It's bizarre, and it's increasingly far removed from the event itself, which, last time I checked, chiefly involves running around and jumping over things. And, if you're British, moaning about the traffic."

Not excited by the Olympics? Then thank God for the sponsors | Charlie Brooker | Comment is free | The Guardian

Discuss...
 
I have no particular interest in the Olympics.... They can do whatever with it if it makes money good luck to them.
 
Should the olympics be pimped ?

Personally I dont give a **** but Seb Coe should be, preferably in a gay bar in Hamburg. DAS BOOT :crazy:
 
No one cares about watching the Olympics. It's boring over inflated crap that the BBC will inflict on the airwaves rather than give us top gear.

I hope the Olympics is boycotted avid no one goes to watch it.
 
No one cares about watching the Olympics. It's boring over inflated crap that the BBC will inflict on the airwaves rather than give us top gear.

I hope the Olympics is boycotted avid no one goes to watch it.

Subtle... And I thought it was on 7g, v6 cdi and rust you hated. :rock:
 
I've got no interest in the Olympics. I find watching people runing in straight lines or throwing pointy sticks boring.

It angers me how the tickets are being printed in the US, like we don't have any printing presses in this country? I can pretty much guarentee that if the Olympics were being held in any other country they would go out of their way to support their own printing industry.
 
Last edited:
I thought it was a strange decision to base it in London at all.

Why put it in one of the most congested Cities on the planet? Bonkers.

And what a waste of money, really. They could have all had a good get together at Crystal Palace Stadium and sorted all the medals out without the need to spend Billions that we don't have.

Its like losing your job then going and buying a new 50" flat panel TV and booking a round the world cruise, becasue it will be nice.
 
The first re-incarnation of the Olympic torch relay --- gives you pause for thought?
 
Last edited:
We should be excited about this...
womens-olympic-beach-volleyball-3.jpg


However we all know it's going to rain...
 
Anyone in particular that you can think of?

I doubt any large company would be dishonest enough to promise something and then renege on said promise, that would shatter the trust their customers may have had.

Even Seb Coe would not stoop that low...
 
It's always horrible when non profitmaking pursuits get big sponsors buying their way in, especially if their promises turn out to be hot air...

Perhaps you should try the code MBCLUB30 in the ECP box before you get carried away!
 
Perhaps you should try the code MBCLUB30 in the ECP box before you get carried away!

That was yesterdays win against the The Man, I had no doubt they would not be true to their word, does not the thought of fast food and sugar laden drinks makers sponsoring athletics not sicken you?
 
I agree, Nick. I can't see how McDonalds can be taken seriously as the official restaurant. Am surprised Marlboro arent the official fags.

As for the event itself, it can go and get stuffed.
 
That was yesterdays win against the The Man, I had no doubt they would not be true to their word, does not the thought of fast food and sugar laden drinks makers sponsoring athletics not sicken you?

No the thought of the Olympics sickens me. According to TFL I'm going to have to queue for 30 mins for a train home at Kings Cross.

Don't think so.
 
Any organisation that can pay £25Million+ of tax-payers money to build a 'sporting' facililty that will then cost at least half as much to destroy and to re-construct the site to its former glory needs to be looked at with a very jaundiced eyeball. Not only that, but all the equipment in it has been leased from German and Swiss organisations, and nothing of it will not go into the post-games legacy of this nation.

Add to that that those lucky VERY few British participants - which minute number even excludes a multiple gold and silver medal winner - who have to train in Switzerland because their sport is prohibited here in UK, and you can well see why I, and many other shooters, will not be watching much of the games - lissom young females in tight bikini-sized athletic kit excluded, of course.

tac, shooter
 
...does not the thought of fast food and sugar laden drinks makers sponsoring athletics not sicken you?

I don't care who sponsors it, as long as it saves the taxpayer forking out for the whole pointless thing. Let McDonalds et al bear a bit of the cost, they can afford it.

What does sicken me is seeing public money wasted on finding out who can jump the highest and run the fastest.

Give me It's a Knockout anyday. At least it was funny.:bannana:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom