the elevator pitch

The conclusion of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics marks an important day for marketing and PR firms. Not only will it signify one of the largest global media events in recent history, but it also represents the end of this event. And let’s be honest, marketing and sales are the real numbers we’re all looking for with the conclusion of the games. Just like the normal transition from one event to the next, it looks like giant media outlets are doing the same as they pack up their TV trucks. So what is next?

World Cup 2010 in South Africa

Without a doubt, the South Africa FIFA World Cup will be the next huge event the world will watch on their TV’s, read about in the papers and stream legally online. With just as much international pride (if not more) as the Olympics, you can bet that the sporting world will be glued to the drama as the world’s greatest football tournament commences this Summer.

The 2010 Master’s Tournament

Under normal circumstances The Master’s would only be considered a big event in the golfing world. Yes, the greatest golfers of the modern era gather to win the season’s biggest and most respected prize in the sport, but 2010 brings a twist that nobody could have predicted. The 2010 Master’s could be the triumphant return (or downfall of, depending on how you see it) of Tiger Woods. As his well documented family issues unfold in the tabloids, he’ll look to get back to what makes him great on the golf course this April.

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First of all, congratulations to Alex Bilodeau on grabbing (hopefully) the first of many Olympic Gold medals for Canada last evening. Although the majority of the world is still a little bit clueless as to how Freestyle Moguls scoring goes, Canada is proud to have seen the Quebec native break the curse. But here at The Elevator Pitch we noticed something very interesting. Just minutes after Bilodeau’s score was posted on national television, CTV ran a newly edited music video featuring Bilodeau’s run. We should expect to see something like this produced over the course of the games, but to see his run with the background music of Nikki Yanofsky only minutes after means Canadian media was expecting this.

But CTV wasn’t the only one quick to congratulate Canada and Bilodeau as during the first commercial break VISA ran a congratulatory commercial mentioning Canada’s first gold medal on home soil.

It looks and sounds like Canada isn’t the only nation hoping to make a big splash over the course of the next couple of weeks as companies all over the world are quick to jump on the national pride train. Keep your eyes peeled for the next time Canada captures a gold medal and you’ll probably see various commercials and montages.

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You’d think that the Olympic flame would be the one thing on our planet that could withstand the heat. These days, though, the venerable torch is sweating it.

The fire it’s facing comes from the belly of protestors who would rather witness anarchy than the Beijing Games. With the demonstrators gaining attention wherever they decide to congregate, the flame has had little chance.

“I wanted to extinguish the Olympic flame with a child’s water shooter because the idea of the flame as a symbol of harmony is not valid,” protestor Isabel Losada wrote the London Telegraph on Sunday in the latest swipe at the sacred fire. She and her associates are accusing the international community of supporting China’s controversial treatment of Tibetan monks and they are champions of a multilateral boycott of the 2008 Olympiad. (We’ll talk about the Tibet situation in the coming days.)

In recent weeks, the flame has been grasped, spat at, insulted and been pissed on figuratively if not literally during the torch relay that leads up to the opening of the Summer Olympics in August.

Elevation PR says enough already. The Olympic flame needs a campaign to help its public image and we’re here to provide it. These are five reasons why no one should ever desecrate the torch:

1. Extinguishing the flame would be like bulldozing an Egyptian pyramid or turning the Galapagos Islands into a Club Med. The Olympic flame has been part of human history for 2,785 years. Respect it!

2. Forget cavemen with sticks, the true source of fire on our earth occurred when Prometheus stole the flame from Zeus. (At least that’s what the Hellenic tradition tells us.) Are you really going to want to be known as the one who put out that light?

3. The flame is an innocent bystander in the politics of man. Really, what’s it ever done? Let it glimmer and glow in peace as it gets passed around like the rumor of some track star’s steroid habit.

4. If you really want to cause a stir, forget the flame and protest flights to China. Get on the tarmac and make like a Tiananmen Square hero in front of the next Boeing you see. Then we’ll pay attention.

5. The Olympic flame’s hot. It represents glory, strength, persistence, hard work: all positive human characteristics. Snuffing it would epitomize some of our worst.

Got something to say about how the Olympic flame’s public image should be made over? Let the Elevation team know!

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