Anyone out there know the rules about logos and brand names on snowboards at the Olympics?
With all of the fury surrounding ambush marketing, and the measures the IOC have put in place over the years in an effort to protect their sponsors, one couldn't help but notice the subtle marketing in play during yesterday's men's halfpipe competition. The Olympics have rules regarding the allowable size of trademarks and corporate logos, regulations which have extended as far as forbidding Team Canada's use of its traditional Hockey Canada logo, and restricting the size and visibility of equipment manufacturers' marks.
So it seems strange, then, that every snowboarder to take the hill yesterday made no secret of their sponsors, with names like Burton and Bataleon seemingly underlying every descent.
In past Olympic Games, it has been commonplace for alpine skiers to remove a ski and show off their sponsor to the camera while awaiting their results. In televised competitions, this ritual emerged over the past twenty years as an accepted and almost celebrated part of skiing, based on the willingness of broadcasters to show off each skier's gear. This year, however, there's been much less attention on the skis at the finish line than would be expected. Either broadcasters and organizers are getting wise to the marketability of winter sports, or the skiing community is taking a stand against ambushing. Which seems more likely?
Finally, this post would be incomplete without giving mention to snowboarding's golden boy Shaun White, whose performance yesterday in the halfpipe competition drew a line under just how far this sport has come in recent years, and how big an impact he has had. Snowboarding, while a popular adventure and counter-culture sport for decades, is finally expanding into the mainstream, and the advances being achieved across the competitive arena are amazing. White's emergence and talent have been a driving force behind snowboarding's rise, and both he and the sport are now reaping the rewards.
