Did you know that the US Olympic Committee owns the only trademarks specifically protected by US Law? I know this doesn't sound very exciting, but stick with me for at least a little while. US laws protect all trademarks in use in U.S. commerce. However, that isn't good enough for the Olympics. The Olympics get special treatment. Congress has passed a specific law setting forth protection for the Olympic Symbol, as well as a few other logos, and the words, “Olympic”, “Olympiad”, “Citius Altius Fortius”, “Paralympic”, “Paralympiad”, “Pan-American”, “America Espirito Sport Fraternite”, or any combination of those words. Protection of the Olympics knows no bounds.
But wait, there's more. Such special protection is not limited to the U.S. Even China, not exactly the leader in intellectual property protection, has a special law to protect the Olympic trademarks. About 51 countries are also signatories to a treaty that grants special protection to the Olympic trademarks. This makes sense. There aren't enough problems in the world to deal with, so we need a special treaty to protect the marketing rights of a multi-billion dollar international organization.
You want to host the Olympics? Aside from all the costs involved, keep in mind that prior to awarding a host country the Olympic Games, the IOC requires each bidding country to commit to enacting intellectual property legislation granting special trademark protection to the IOC, host country Olympic committees, and official Olympic sponsors. The legislation must protect several Olympic marks and restrict the ambush marketing activities of businesses who are not official sponsors of the Games.
Ambush marketing. What is that you say? Let's ask Nike. Ambush marketing is when you give Michael Johnson special shoes, he lights up the Olympics with two jaw dropping performances and then you get Time Magazine to put him, with those shoes hanging around his neck, on their cover. All this without paying crazy fees to be an official Olympic sponsor. That is a ton of free advertising. Well, not free, the shoes apparently cost $30,000.00. But $30,000.00 is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of being an official Olympics sponsor. Being an official partner of the Olympics, known as TOP sponsorship (The Olympic Partners) costs $100 million.
But wait, there's more. Nike also put a "Nike Centre" next to the athlete's village. I don't know what a "Nike Centre" is, but I imagine it as Mecca to Nike worshippers, like Middle. At a minimum, we can all assume it is a place where athletes and fans can go spend money to benefit Nike, instead of the Olympics. It may also be where fans were given flags with the Nike swoosh on them, so the fans could wave them at Olympic events and get the Nike swoosh on TV. Yeah, that happened, too.
After Nike's well planned and orchestrated coup, The IOC and the USOC became a lot more stringent about who does and says what, as it relates to the Olympics. Nike also got their karmic kick back. Nike's campaign, like a lot of athletic apparel campaigns, was directed to winning. "You don't win silver, you lose gold." We love winners. We praise winners. However, particularly when it comes to the Olympics, we praise the effort and sportsmanship. There are 555 US athletes on the Olympic Team. Most of them aren't winning a medal. No one wants to pretend like they aren't all great athletes. Saying those that "only" won silver are essentially the "first losers" is even worse. You have to be careful with the Olympics. You can get it from the IOC or the people if you don't do it right.
But wait, there's more. There is more to protecting the Rings than just marketing. Anything negative about the Olympics will get backlash. If a high profile American athlete is the victim of a crime, it is a big story. However, if that same athlete lied about being the victim of a crime, people lose their minds. I have no idea what happened with Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen. I will defer to a friend who said that pulling two people off a plane over a made up story seems a little over the top. Yeah. It kind of does. But this is Rio defending itself against a well earned reputation for crime. Let's ignore the Australians who were robbed before this thing started; let's ignore the Belgian medalist who was beat up and robbed on the beach, we need to make sure the whole world knows Ryan Lochte is a liar. And Rio is safe. Except, regardless of whether Ryan Lochte is a liar, Rio kind of has a crime problem.
But wait, there's more. We need to make sure everyone knows the Olympics is about the spirit of cooperative competition. Ignore the money, the incentives and the doping. This is just a celebration of human athletic achievement intertwined with international good will. Just in time, we get Abbey D'Agostino and Nikki Hamblin. I am not saying these two young women don't deserve the credit they have received for their acts of sportsmanship and good will towards each other. I am saying that maybe, just maybe, they were being human. If they deserve this much praise, what does that say about our expectations. Maybe we all understand this is big business and big money. Maybe the money and doping and trash talking and occasional ruthlessness has made us all so cynical that when two Olympians act in a way we all hope anyone would on any given day, we seem surprised.
To wrap this up, I need to think about myself. Given the lengths the IOC has gone to protect their trademarks, am I at risk. If only we had a trademark attorney to ask. Oh, wait, we do. I asked him. He said I am fine. If I called this Blog "Dan's Olympic Blog" there might be a problem. Luckily, I decided on a different name. So, we are safe. For now. And before you ask, those athletes who have the rings tattooed on themselves? They are safe, too.
Today's Olympic Story Line - Hair ties and Steeplechase. On Monday, Emma Coburn won a bronze medal in the Women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase. Before the race, she didn't have a hair tie to hold her flowing blonde hair. So she borrowed one from teammate Evan Jager. Yesterday, Jager won the silver in the Men's 3000 Meter Steeplechase, using the same hair tie. Coincidence? I think not.
Reflections on What Has Happened (Focus for this will be on US sports and medals, but we will touch on other stuff as time permits) -
Two days, because I took yesterday off, and I have learned that a day off makes me forget a ton.
1. Justin Gatlin learned the hard way that you can't ease up too much at the end of your semifinal heat.
2. How has Jamaica dominated the sprints for 3 Olympics? With the win in the Women's 200 last night, Jamaica has won the Men's and Women's 100 for each of the last 3 Olympics, the Women's 200 for 2 of the last 3 (and a silver in the one they didn't win), and we all know Bolt takes his 3rd straight 200 tonight.
3. I am loving the BMX competition.
4. The Women's 1500 finish was insane. They were sprinting with 450 meters to go. The favorite died at the end. Jennie Simpson ran a controlled smart race and closed on 3 other runners in the last 250 to get bronze. 50 more meters and she would have won silver.
5. Open water swimming had closer finishes than anything Katie Ledecky did.
6. I still need to see some sailing.
7. That day of no gold came and went quickly, didn't it. And, as always, the Women led the way.
8. We need Americans to get good at the kayak racing, so more will be on TV.
Predictions Sum Up -
1. Walsh-Jennings/Ross don't lose a set. Again. WRONG! They actually lost 3 sets in a row before righting themselves for the bronze.
2. Jennie Simpson bronze in 1500 Yup
3. Ashton Eaton wins gold in Decathlon (starts tomorrow, I have to get this in before it starts). Pending
4. Lithuania beats Australia in basketball WRONG! And devastating.
5. US Men beat Argentina, by 7. Yup I said 27, right?
6. Lexi Thompson gets silver in golf. Pending
Predictions -
1. US Women's Water Polo - gold.
2. US Women's Basketball - gold
3. US Men's Basketball - gold.
4. US Men's Volleyball - gold (They are on a mission.)
4. US Women's Volleyball - bronze.
5. Bolt - Gold.
What to Watch for
1. You Are Beautiful, Part 2.
2. More BMX Cycling.
3. Race Walking. OK, no. This is the silliest thing since trampoline.
4. Modern Pentathlon. This is worth watching.
5. Track Relays.
6. A volleyball post.
7. The end of the Olympics so you can stop following Rule #1, which I know you have all been following.
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