RULE 40

The IOC has taken actions to control the power of advertisers and over-commercialization of the Olympics by introducing Rule 40. Most companies choose to advertise the greatest players in the game, which attract more consumers for their products to improve their bottom lines. So, once the games start, Rule 40 jumps into play and disables any company to use an athlete to their advantage for profit purposes. 

Smart, huh?

Bylaw 3 of the rule states that:

"Except as permitted by the IOC Executive Board, no competitor, team official or other team personnel who participates in the Olympic Games may allow his person, name, picture or sports performances to be used for advertising purposes during the Olympic Games.”

However, sponsorships such as Coke and Visa are classified as “official partners”, and do not have to follow the Rule 40 manual because they are so important to the games. This initiative, according to the Olympic Committee is “to preserve the unique nature of the Olympic games by preventing over-commercialization.” Hmm. 

You could say Rule 40 eliminates all of the “fluff” by companies during the Olympics games such as a small apparel brand promoting their products by associating themselves with winners throughout the game. It just doesn’t seem right but at the same time, some of these small businesses are the reason why most Olympic athletes make it to the games.

The blackout period that exists during the month of the Olympics has caused issues among businesses and even large corporations that sponsor athletes. Athletes were outraged at the 2012 London Olympics when they were shocked they couldn’t even post a thank you shoutout to their sponsors on Facebook. The uproar that was caused by businesses such as Oiselle (running apparel for women), and New Balance made the IOC rethink Rule 40 for the Rio games to eliminate dissatisfaction. Advertsing campaigns could not include and words dealing with “Rio”, “summer”, “gold”, “sponsors”, or even “2016”. The messages could not contain good luck or supportive messages, and must run from the end of March until the end of the games. 

Gold medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson silently speaks out against Rule 40.

(London Olympics, 2012)

Rio was just a starting point for actions to be taken by the IOC because of the disruption from sponsors and athletes. Rule 40 sounds like it prevents over-commercialization of the games, but how can the businesses that got the athletes to where they are be silent through this? Is there another way the IOC could regulate commercialization rather than cutting off the underdogs? 

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/07/rule-40-an-olympics-advertising-explainer.html
http://www.oiselle.com/blog/birds-eye-view-rule-40-explained
http://www.npr.org/2016/08/20/490738761/rule-40-how-the-brands-blackout-impacts-olympic-athletes

From Sportsmanship to Commercialization

The Olympic games is a tradition that is rooted in history, prestige, and sportmanship, and up until recently remained free from the corporate world and commercialization. Before the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, most games would result in a net profit loss for the host city or at best breakeven. Following those games in Barcelona, cities began to realize how plausible it was to turn the Olympics into a profitbale event for the host city and the local business community, and began to commercialize the event to lead to maximum profits. Although Barcelona was able to turn a profit, it has proved to be extremely challenging in the following games regardless of the effort put in by these cities.

With Brazil facing headwinds in their economy resulting from corruption, poor leadership and policies, and high crime rates, the effort to commercialize these games and bring about the most success to Rio is a high priority with everyone who is involved. To help achieve this, Rio sought to partner with exclusive, well-known corporations to help support the local communities, business, infrastrucure, and educational system. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Visa, P&G, McDonalds, and more have invested heavily in the marketing of the games, as well as the communities involved, which have had lasting effects on the city beyond just the Olympic games.

WORLDWIDE TOP PARTNERS

• The Partners helped bring the Olympic Games to life through global promotional campaigns, with unprecedented real-time social media activation, as well as popular showcasing venues at the Olympic Park and around Rio de Janeiro.
• The Worldwide TOP Partners provided critical financial support to the organisers of Rio 2016 and every National Olympic Committee, as well as products, technology and services to directly support the staging of the Games.

https://www.olympic.org/news/how-do-we-know-that-rio-2016-was-a-success

http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21649523-preparations-brazils-games-are-going-better-expected-sobriety-carnival

Commercialization Over Time

Worldwide, the Olympic games are a chance to show patriotism, international relationships, competitiveness, and prosperity. However, the global event has created an economic powerhouse in which commercialization and creative marketing strategies have produced positive images for brands and places, especially for Brazil and the 2016 Olympic games.  Commercialization has seen an evident evolution of the reason for the every-four-year season.

Here you can see you impact commercialization has had over the years.

The IOC has placed limits on advertisements though, making it forbidden to advertise at the venues themselves. This is one thing that will keep the focus on what it should be on—the games. Prior to 1984, the Olympic games were self financed, which today is unheard of. Stadiums and cities are all financed for commercial interests rather than the games themselves. Montreal struggled to finance the games in 1976, but by the games in 1984, a surplus of profits were being made. Commercialization has already taken over the games, but is this a good or bad thing? Is there too much focus on making money through the games than there is on the actually game itself? The Olympics have tried to cap-out the amount of sponsors and rights to advertising, but they can't seem to get it right.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/rio-2016-olympic-games-richest-ever-usain-bolt-mo-farah-a7171811.html

http://kennethcortsen.com/sponsorship-branding-commercialization-2016-rio-olympics/

Advertisements of The Games

While the Olympics once started out simply as a way for the top athletes of every country and continent, it has now turned into a huge opportunity for different corporations and companies to speak to widespread audiences through commercialization. The Olympics have become the best option to reach the most widespread and diverse audiences. Each time there is a new opening ceremony in a new country, this presents a new opportunity to bring into the market new sports and marketing trends. 

Although there were many iconic advertisements and marketing campaigns that emerged during the Olympic games period, I am going to discuss some of my favorite.

The first ad I think of when I think of these games was one from P&G. P&G always has great ads, however, this one had the theme of “Thank you Mom”. This advertisement, which had several variations, touched upon the heartstrings while  showcasing the passion and dedication of the athletes and how they got to where they are because of their mothers. You can see the ad below:

Coca Cola is another company that has continuously had great advertisements, and did not disappoint with the Olympics. They had a #ThatsGold campaign which shows what gold feels like, from being an athlete in the Olympics, to any everyday activity you may be participating in. They were one of the presenting partners of the Games, and they also created a hang out area for teens from Rio who can engage with the games in whatever manner they want, going above and beyond and always having innovative marketing ideas. Overall, their gold campaign was very successful and allowed everyone to interact with the brand and still feel connected to the Games.

Lastly, Under Armour had a great ad campaign with their “Rule Yourself” theme. Their main ad highlighted Michael Phelps, and seemed to be a tribute to the star as he went through his final Olympic Games.

Overall, all of these advertisements and other forms of commercialization were very interesting to analyze, and the Olympic Games definitely provided an outlet for these companies to gain more viewers. Which ad is your favorite? Tell us why below!