Could logo controversy be good for the Games? The saga over the new London 2012 Olympic brand continues with media attention over the controversy spreading worldwide and generating over 1 million visitors to the London 2012 website.
The popularity of the new design is universally low, with the 'scrap the logo' petition closed after receiving nearly 50,000 votes for fear that it might damage the reputation of the games, and a CNN poll showing that 89% of people do not title the new logo. This clearly conflicts with the spirit of the Olympic Games and with the brand vision of 'Everyone's Games'.
To make things even worse, a video clip featuring the new visual identity has been found to cause epileptic fits and has been banned from public viewing. But could all the publicity be good for the games in the long run? Rita Clifton of brand consultants Interbred stated that "whether people like it or not is not the point - likeability is not correlated with effectiveness in branding."
For a public event like the Olympics though, the effectiveness of the brand is not as simple as generating revenue. Certainly the logo has attracted considerably more attention than a more popular Logo would have, but is any publicity always good publicity? Time will tell, but the answer may well differ depending on whether you measure financial or cultural success.
