Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Corporate Evil, Cunning, Devious Strategy, olympics, Sponsorship
So the Olympics ends tomorrow.
Despite facing incredible apathy and backlash, I think it’s been pretty awesome.
Drama. Triumph. Legacies. Debate. Wonderfulness.
Fantastic.
But that’s not why I want to write about.
I want to write about this …
What you see above is the DVD cover of the Rio Olympics opening ceremony.
It was available at my local DVD store in Shanghai within 4 days of the ceremony happening.
For the equivalent of 90pence.
Copied. Duplicated. Distributed within 4 days.
FOUR DAYS.
Say what you like about the morality of what they’re doing – or lack of it – but you have to admit that’s quick.
Usain Bolt quick.
And if the IOC and Rio Authorities are pissed off about this … I’ll leave them with this.
China only focuses on things they can make money from, so by being copied, they’re saying there was demand for it.
In other words, you did a good job,
In even plainer speak, it’s a [kind-of] compliment.
And besides, you can’t really complain about doing bad things, when you used[?] to do this.
So enjoy the praise and look forward to the closing ceremony.
I can send you a DVD of it in about 4 days if you like …
OK, so Rolex has had a long, long association with Wimbledon tennis.
And OK, Roger Federer is a giant of the game.
But seriously, this ad highlighting Rolex connection to Roger – and Wimbledon – is more tenuous than all those sponsorship ads that proudly say, “We work hard to make a great product and [insert team name] work hard to be a great team.”
Maybe I’m being a bit of a cynical bastard, but does it smack of being a bit shit to you too?
Especially the insinuation that when he checks his overpriced Rolex watch, he will remember the ‘hundreds of thousands of underprivileged kids in Southern Africa’ he is helping.
DOESN’T HELPING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS STICK IN THE MEMORY BY ITSELF?
I am not blaming Roger Federer – what he’s doing is a great thing – and I’m sure Rolex contributed to what he needs to achieve his goal, but as I said about Hard Rock Cafe’s when they did a ‘feed the hungry’ program, sometimes best intentions end up coming across with the absolute opposite impression, especially when your ego can’t help itself.