Brands Get Punk with Olympic Restrictions

If Johnny Rotten, Sex Pistols frontman and Country Life Butter spokesman, has taught us anything it’s that rules are made to be broken. Oh, and that punk and the advertising industry have way more in common than one might think. As the public and media backlash against over-eager clampdowns on small businesses mentioning the Olympics in their window displays has grown over the past week, the creative industries have been getting, err, creative with the advertising restrictions, resulting in some amusing campaigns that can’t fail to raise a wry smirk.

 

Nike

With rivals adidas taking the stage as official sponsors of London 2012 and Team GB, Nike has responded with a clever campaign that manages to ambush their competitors without ever mentioning the big ‘O’. Featuring amateur athletes in ‘Londons’ around the world and eschewing a slick aesthetic, ‘Find Your Greatness’ sees Nike position itself as the ‘everyman’ of sport. Read more here: http://bit.ly/NU7QWH

 

Paddy Power

In a David-versus-Goliath battle worthy of the most epic sports movies, online bookmaker Paddy Power has taken on LOCOG... and won. They launched a provocative campaign announcing that they were ‘official sponsors of the largest athletics event in London this year’. The twist? The event in question is a giant egg-and-spoon race, set in London near Dijon, in France. LOCOG piled on the pressure, urging Paddy Power to take down their giant billboards but when the Irish bookies threatened legal action against LOCOG, the authorities backed down and the billboard remains in place. Find out more from the company itself here (http://bit.ly/QjggKh ) and here (http://bit.ly/OmF11c ).

 

Oddbins

In a campaign which is more political than commercial, high street booze retailer Oddbins has hit out against the LOCOG restrictions with a campaign that is explicitly critical yet pedantically legal. Their poster campaign bears slogans such as “We can’t mention the event, we can’t mention the city, we can’t even mention the year; at least they can’t stop us telling you about this”. They’ve also offered a 30% discount to shoppers using any products from rival brands to the main sponsors. To find out more and read the MD’s unvarnished thoughts on the matter, go here: http://bit.ly/OEjHEo

 

Rushes

Post house Rushes has invited the industry to enjoy the games from their roof terrace in London – sending out a diplomatically-worded flyer entitled “Support ‘You Know Who!’”. Speaking to Rushes MD Joce Capper, the screenings and the cheeky flyer are all about enjoying the games and celebrating the sense of community that such a massive event can engender, whilst having a mischievous dig at the jobsworth regulations. She says, “I’ve run the whole gamut of emotions when it comes to the Olympics – I’ve decided to love it.”