The Olympics and promotions

Hopefully your promotions that are centered around next month’s Olympic Games are well under way but here are some words of caution. I was typing the above and thought ‘can I use the word Olympic?’ Do you think I’ve gone mad? Well possibly, but nevertheless, be careful.

If you have an advertising agency or PR firm they will have already warned you that you have to take the greatest care with Olympic promotions. If you’re a small business that doesn’t have a PR firm, then read on.  You are expressly forbidden from using the following:

• The Olympic symbol
• The Paralympic symbol
• The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic emblems
• The London 2012 mascots
• The words ‘London 2012′
• The words ‘Olympic’, ‘Olympiad’, ‘Olympian’ (and their plurals and words very similar to them – eg ‘Olympix’
• The words ‘Paralympic’, ‘Paralympiad’, ‘Paralympian’ and their plurals and words very similar to them – eg ‘Paralympix’
• The words ‘games’, ‘two thousand and twelve’, ‘2012’ and ‘twenty twelve’ which may not be used in combination with each other or with ‘gold’, ‘silver’, ‘bronze’, ‘London’, ‘medals’, ‘sponsor’ or ‘summer’.
• The Olympic motto: ‘Citius Altius Fortius’ / ‘Faster Higher Stronger’
• The Paralympic motto: ‘Spirit in Motion’
• London2012.com (and various derivatives)
• The London 2012 sports pictograms

Take particular note that the words ‘games’, ‘two thousand and twelve’, ‘2012’ and ‘twenty twelve’ which may not be used in combination with each other or with ‘gold’, ‘silver’, ‘bronze’, ‘London’, ‘medals’, ‘sponsor’ or ‘summer’.’ Wow.

That’s a bit scary but think of associated words that you CAN use – race, target, sail, winner, team, mascot, win, stadium, flame, support, sport, torch, events … and no-one can prevent you from using the names of countries or of individual sports. You can also make full use of sporting paraphernalia words such as horse, canoe, football, hockey stick, ball, bike etc. And  there are words that rhyme with ‘sports’ to give you catchy slogans – shorts, aborts, contorts, forts, resorts, quartz,sorts, supports. Games?  Try flames, shames, frames, names, acclaims, aims, dames, proclaims …

So here’s an Olympic promotion ‘kit’ of facts and figures you can use.

• RMS Olympic – was the sister ship to the Titanic.
• The USS Olympic was a naval patrol vessel between 1917 and 1919.
• Olympic is also the name of a mountain range ( western Washington)  and a national park.
• In the 1950s there was a band called the Olympics – songs included Western Movies, Big Boy Pete, Dance by the Light ofthe Moon, The Bounce, Little Pedro…
• Operation Olympic was a WW2 military operation.
• There was a 1927 short silent comdy film called the Olympic Games.