"Amazing Awaits"

I officially leave for China tomorrow!

Of course, I thought it would be nice to leave a post before I exit the States.

*The US Olympic Committee had decided a little under a year ago on their slogan in collaboration with advertising agency, mcgarrybowen. "Amazing awaits," Gordon Bowen said, "speaks to the possibility, not the probability, that amazing things await us all.” In addition to the slogan, they're going all out with full-page ads and new music composed to induce inspiration and iconic Americanism - think Aaron Copland meets Samuel Barber - in simpler terms, epic.

What does this mean? The approach to the Olympics has changed. The Committee decided to reframe attitudes from "winning the gold" to "embracing the journey." It's a pretty good idea considering the disappointing performance of Bode Miller in Winter Olympics 2006 when he decided that socializing and getting wasted was better than trying to win and pull through for his country and corporate sponsors. In turn, Nike went on overdrive with their advertising campaign to "Join Bode" and the media hype that was created around him way before the Games was doomed to fail.

Learning from their mistake, it seems like the Committee is doing the opposite from what they did in 2006. It's seems (as of now) instead of focusing on a single athlete to bring home the gold, they're looking into the narrative of their journeys. Envoking emotion - will "amazing awaits" succeed? It's only mid-May so it is hard to say - the campaign hasn't been launched yet, just a few things such as their website: http://www.amazingawaits.org/ and a press release here and there. Honestly, the whole "inspirational" thing is old news - the audience understands how hard it is to get into the Olympics and that it takes great skills to get in, and the decreasing viewership is showing that it hasn't been enough - so what is missing?

The element in sports that people love to see is competition. The audience likes to see struggle, aggression, and passion, therefore the success in other sports broadcastings (ex: Superbowl, College Sports). "Amazing awaits" doesn't carry the competitive spirit of sports. Yes, the journey is important and meaningful, but the principal is too distant from the raw, human, anticipation of rivalry.

I expect that they're going to emphasize the campaign not only the human spirit but also the fact that it's in CHINA - there is so much history and culture that can be used to make this a unique Olympic project. There is much potential to introduce China to the world in a positive light, in the midst of all the recent negative publicity (ex: lead toys, disease, Tibet).

Despite that, I think the slogan applies to the emotion that I feel right now. My expectations are limitless, and my journey begins. Amazing awaits!

B

*Source from USOC.org, by USOC Staff, published 7 Aug 2007

Prologue

Hello all,

Wow, my first post! This is rather exciting!

I'm currently in my room right now, which is rather empty and depressing due to the winding conclusion of finals and my junior year of college.

Anyway, that's not what I'm here to write about.

The idea to start a blog came a couple weeks ago when plans for my 2-week trip to China started to finally come together. As I am only 11 days away from boarding the plane with my fellow classmates, I thought it would be a good idea to start a prologue before I enter the East. During my stay at China, I will be posting my reviews on pretty much anything I see related to marketing and communication - whether it be a billboard, commercial, print ad, whatever. There will be the occasional post on restaurants and tourist attractions, but anything that is interesting and curious, I will post!

This is an exciting time to go to China. Not only are they hosting the Olympics in August, but they are going through an economic revolution which of course impacts the social culture as well. I anticipate many interesting experiences with my classmates, new outlooks, and the occasional course of indigestion (just kidding. I hear the food is fabulous).

What is to come after China? Hopefully I will travel more this upcoming summer, but being that my summer plans are still undecided as of now, we shall see as we go along. For now, look forward to some great pictures and comments on Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Xi'an.

So keep reading! This is going to be a great journey.

B