Olympism and Consumption: An Analysis of Advertising in the British Media Coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

Abstract

Drawing on work located within critical political economy and process sociology, this article uses content analysis to examine the types, frequency, and content of Olympic related advertising in the British press and television during the 2004 Athens Olympics. We assessed the degree to which The Olympic Partner (TOP) sponsors incorporated themes derived from Olympism and the Celebrate Humanity program, as well as from consumer culture more broadly. Our findings suggest that relatively few advertisers incorporated themes relating to Olympism, and that those that did focused on “excellence,” which is arguably more indicative of the achievement sports ethic and consumerism than of Olympic ideals.

Political celebrity and the Olympic movement: exploring the charismatic authority of IOC presidents

“…After Williams, a cavalcade of celebrities was enlisted to record talking-heads or voiceovers for the video clips that were run thousands of times around the world: Avril Lavigne, Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan, Christopher Reeve and Andrea Bocelli. In addition, as Maguire et al (2008) have pointed out, these global celebrities were complimented by a host of locally-recognized celebrities for local markets; the marketing team responsible for the campaign had intentionally generated media that could be adapted to local languages and celebrity personalities. The celebrities used included Siti Nurhaliza (Malaysia), Omar Sharif (Morocco, Algeria, and France) Valeri Gergiev (Russia), Steffi Graf (Germany), Giovane Gavio (Brazil), Youngpil Cho (South Korea), and Maura Tierney (United States) (International Olympic Committee, Athens 2004 Report, 105).…”

“…This particular contribution seems to be the clearest example of the Olympic's instrumentalization of celebrity power, begun under Samaranch. The subject, Lavigne, had no readily accessible connection to the movement; instead, she was selected (to sell a product, as Maguire et al, 2008, elaborate) because of her "appeal" among young consumers. Following Marks and Fisher (2002), given that these young audiences were not necessarily interested in, or attuned to, the social importance and political legitimacy of the Olympics and IOC, celebrities like Lavigne were useful to the extent that they could serve as arbiters of the organization's cultural and political authority.…”

‘The Day the Flame Came to Town’: The Olympic Flame, Symbol, Community and Commodification

“…More indicative of the achievement sports ethic (Maguire et al, 2008a), with the cultural significance of its ritual elements ignored in the process of framing and marketing the Akin to previous studies the Flame Relay was firmly placed in a spectacle frame rather than as ritual (Thanopoulos, 2012). On the day the flame came to town the feeling of togetherness seemed fleeting and illusory, and 'based on group fantasies of grandeur' in which the social significance of the Flame Relay changes with its 'mass psychological effects' (Alkemeyer and Richartz, 1993:87;cf.…”

“…Even the best creative efforts of leading advertising agencies working with the IOC in a specific 'Celebrate Humanity' campaign seemed unable to reach audiences in the way that the movement suggested (Maguire et al, 2008a). Employed as a strategy to deflect criticism of the Olympic Movement and to add value to the Olympic brand, advertising in the British press revealed little incorporation or emphasis of themes relating to Olympism (Maguire et al, 2008a). Acting as 'blendwork', under the influence of extreme commercialization, Olympism as a concept has been debased to 'empty advertising clichés ' (Milton-Smith, 2002: 138).…”

“…Continually updated to fit with the changing social climate, rather than adhering to a 'universal' philosophy of sport / life, the unclear and changing nature of Olympism can be more accurately understood as the result and projection of specific patriarchal, Western, and elite social developments (Donnelly, 1996;Eichberg, 1984;Maguire et al, 2008a). Moreover, despite Olympism's associations with the notions of international understanding, equality, and mass participation, the modern Olympics themselves have, since their inception, been class based and exclusionary (Crowther, 2004;Donnelly, 1996;Eichberg, 1984;Maguire et al, 2008a). There are many who find the Olympic ideology fraudulent, fallacious, amoral and illusory, used only in the search for power, prestige and profit (Loland, 1995;Segrave, 2000), representing a 'metaphorical empty flask to be filled by the next political, economic, educational opportunist' (Wamsley, 2004: 232).…”