I am amazed at how quickly a Government body can undermine the lively hood of a common business by forcing it to change a registered and often trademarked name to justify its (The Government appointed body) own existence.
As I follow the escapades of Vanoc in its ever-broadening attempt to cut off the use of the words Olympic, Games City, Twenty-ten, Medals, Sponsor, Vancouver and Whistler I reflect on the words of Orson Wells in his book, “1984” and ponder, “Could it become a reality?”
“Published in 1948 and set thirty-six years in the future, 1984 is George Orwell’s dark vision of the future. It is a chilling depiction of how the power of the state could come to dominate the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning.”
According to the Province News, Vanoc will employ brand cops to ensure we comply with their new marketing regulations by having its officers monitor Canadian daily and weekly newspapers, periodicals and surf the internet. The document quoted by the Province also stipulates that they (Vanoc Police) will also monitor Canadian TV, radio networks and home based businesses, billboards, and street furniture as well as transit shelters.
The article continues by noting that the Brand Cops will report monthly except during the 2008 games in Beijing summer Olympics and in March of 2010 they will report weekly.
The ranking reads like a full-blown terrorist alert, as all incidents reported to Vanoc must be listed as, “Red for high risk”, “Yellow for a medium threat”. I am assuming “Black and blue is for those who fail to comply?
There was no mention of the penalties for conversations between two consenting adults using any of the banned words. I am going to assume there is something in the fine print for the unfortunate who have a momentary lapse in judgment.
Officers will wear long black trench coats and sunglasses to ensure greater intimidation of the masses prior to arrest.
You may recall that in late 2004, VANOC went after the owner of Vancouver pizzeria Olympia Pizza, asking him to take down the sign he had used since 1993. The sign depicted the Olympic rings and torch.
Other notations in the news both past and present include:
“VANOC is reviewing a newspaper ad that ran on the weekend in The Globe and Mail and Le Journal de Montreal to see whether it infringed on the Olympic brand. …coloured paint chips are used to depict the Olympic rings. Sico is not an Olympic sponsor.”
“Saint-Jacques Vallée Young & Rubicam, was careful to make sure the newest ad did not violate Olympic copyright. …they used the word “games” with a lower-case “g” in an effort to make it more general.”
“Industry Minister Maxime Bernier introduced Bill C-47, the Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act, legislation that provides the Vancouver Olympic organizers with remarkable power over the language and symbols associated with the Olympics. The legislation is supposedly intended to deal with ambush marketing, which are attempts by businesses to associate themselves with the Olympics without becoming official sponsors.”
Extended reading:
Olympic trademark battle snares small businesses
Should the Vancouver Olympic Organizers Own “Winter”?
Vancouver 2010 Olympics Daily Coverage
Allan Herman, Creative Visual Marketing Services Incorporated (CVM Inc.)
Filed under: business, marketing, networking | Tagged: 2010, vanoc, vancouver, twenty-ten, olympics, orson-wells, the-province-news, brand-cops, olympia-pizza, olympic-rings, Saint-Jaques-Vallee-Young, Rubicam
What the Vancouver Police have nothing better to do?
Vanoc will have its own appointed style of police which will not be associated with or work with or under the jurisdiction of the Vancouver Police or any other City/Provincial/Federal police force. The Vanoc police will be working for Vanoc until after the 2010 games and strictly in respect to brands, trademarks and other forms of advertising Vanoc deems in violation of its marketing brands, logos etc. They will report ONLY, as I understand it, to Vanoc which is the governing body for the 2010 games in Vancouver.
Vanoc consists of a bunch of reetards. As if trying to make the name Olympic or Games or 201 is going to induce me to buy a ticket I won’t be able to afford anyway.
If anything, they should see the benefit of having the names repeated around…..it would create even more awareness.
The Vanoc folks think they are so-o-o-o special…..They Olympic Games have been around for how many years? And there will continue to be Olympic Games long after 2010…..
How can you suddenly trademark a date on a calendar…or a name that has been used freely for so long….
Olympia Pizza rocks.