And so the day has come! Prince William is to marry Kate Middleton. Be of good cheer, Britain, there’s new blood being drafted into the old firm! It really is fabulous news, in such tough economic times, that the cuts will not affect everything. In 2011 there will be something for the whole nation to…
Looking carefully at the one-eyed Manga nightmares that are the 2012 Olympic mascots, I have been wondering at the designers’ thinking – and not as negatively as you might suspect. I think there may be a classicist at work behind these Cyclopses. According to Hesiod, the Cyclopses were strong, stubborn giants who were “abrupt of…
Another piece, by me, on the Tiger Woods brand disintegration has appeared in Guardian Online’s Media section. It looks at the way that sports endorsement has been shifting away from volatile and risky sports stars, and at where the big money is settling in the aftermath of the Tiger Woods PR meltdown. “Let’s get one…
“So, what now for this latest dopey Olympian?” asked a headline in today’s Daily Mail, referring to American swimmer Michael Phelps’ bong-sucking faux pas. Phelps, who holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympics (eight in Beijing) and the most ever golds won by an Olympian (fourteen), was photographed nursing…
I scribbled an opinion feature for the Sunday Times on the Olympic hoo-ha, which fell by the wayside. I think it addressed the issues that had been missed as euphoric rapture asphyxiated the nation and completely overshadowed the Olympic scale of the Chinese Olympics propaganda. In the rush to enjoy Team GB’s Olympic success, let’s…
By Amol Rajan Tuesday, 19 August 2008 Britain’s Olympic heroes in Beijing are being circled by increasing numbers of sports agents, multi-nationals and image consultants desperate to cash in on their new-found fame. Behind the scenes in China’s capital, newly crowned champions, from the swimmer Rebecca Adlington to the cyclists Bradley Wiggins and Chris Hoy,…
Thanks for Pete Fraser for sending me this link to the History News Network . An article on this rather good site highlights the origin of the Olympic torch relay. Not good news that it was engineered for the Nazi Games in Berlin. Its apposite that the BCOG have taken a leaf from Nazis lexicography…
China’s Olympic PR nightmare April 07th, 2008 | Category: Mark My Words After a week in the depths of the French countryside without access to the internet, I returned yesterday to the utter madness of the Olympic torch relay procession through London. How could this blatant PR stunt for the Chinese government have been allowed…
This arrived in my inbox this morning read the full article in Business Week. The practicalities of the commercial world. Proud Sponsors of the Genocide Olympics Business Week, June 21, 2007 http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2007/gb20070621_511854.htm Among the nightmares that might plague a marketing executive, bankrolling an event that some call the Genocide Olympics could well be one of…
Amid the advanced PR choreography of the British Olympic bid over the last few days, the most significant development has been the effective re-engineering of David Beckham’s career as an international sports statesman and roving ambassador for the country he leads on the football field. Yesterday’s press conference was a turning point. It showed the…