The words of the original manifesto were heard many times, as key figures reiterated that this was an event for everyone, like never before. This was demonstrated most brilliantly during the Paralympics, where old notions of ‘normal’ were cast aside.Ī BBC Radio 5 live poll found that the Games inspired one in five people in the UK to go and play sport. Initially so maligned, the brand stood the test. It was an inclusive brand in virtually every way. In line with the original post-nationalistic intention, it quite literally carried the flag of every nation in the world. The 2012 logo, so controversial at launch, twinkled from screen to arena. Aardman Animations, creators of Wallace & Gromit, made a film with Tate that actively engaged 35,000 children in its production. The UK saw huge levels of participation. All in all, an estimated six million people got involved in events, at schools and in the streets, up and down the land. In the summer of 2012 London delivered a breathtaking Games that, for a few heady weeks, was all-consuming. While its success can’t be credited to any one factor, it was apparent that the 2012 brand helped set a special tone and atmosphere. Sponsors and other delegates were – unusually for occasions of this stature – seated higher up in the stands. In a move that became known as ‘PIF’ (People In Front), the seats closest to the action at every event were reserved for the public. To inspire the whole country, the Olympic torch travelled throughout the UK. The Cultural Olympiad, separated from its sporting cousin since 1948, would also run alongside the Games. Now, on our recommendation, the two were treated as equals, with the same sponsors and their own variants of a single, shared logo. Until now the Paralympics had been a whispered echo of the main event. This meant that if an organisation didn’t have permission to use them, they could simply be dropped.Ģ012 had a flexible expression that could belong to everyone, but the Games needed to put ‘everyone’s’ at the core of the experience. The rings, tightly controlled by the IOC, were embedded within rather than outside the logo – something that had been done only once before, at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. The logo could be populated with sporting imagery, providing a way to showcase the content of the Games, or the colours of sponsors, such as the black and white of Adidas. Where past Olympic logos had been very rigid, 2012 allowed other affiliated parties to make it their own. In line with the legacy objective, it carried neither sporting nor landmark images.Ī major feature of the 2012 brand was its flexibility. It was bold, spirited and dissonant, reflecting London’s modern, urban edge. We developed the energy line grid from which the logo was built. We arranged discussion groups with school children and adolescents, who told us that 2012 needed to bring the Olympics off the pedestal and onto the street. Sport in UK schools had been falling and here was a chance to create a force that could reverse that trend. It was critical that 2012 engage young people. This captured the intent for 2012 to break the Olympic mould, while inspiring people to stretch themselves in every sense. We combined the two sides of the strategy into a single brand idea: ‘Like never before’. We needed to create a movement of people doing their best in life: ‘Everyone Olympic’. It had to be ‘Everyone’s Olympics’.īeyond this, the real potential was in the values and actions the athletes’ feats could inspire in the rest of us. All very impressive, but to achieve widespread participation, 2012 had to motivate ordinary people. It would need a brand: 2012.ĭespite their grandeur, the Games of the past had been a stage for elite athletes to perform incredible feats, watched over by a narrow audience. For the Games to find this level of meaning, it would need the support of more than a logo. If there was to be a legacy, it had to reach beyond the event. Instead, this Games was an opportunity to do things differently.
London, however, was already enjoying its status as a top-tier global city and didn’t need to shout so hard. The committees that organise Olympic Games had for many years seen the event primarily as an opportunity to put their city on the map.
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