Not guilty, yet guilty
Posted: Thu 27 September, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Hypocrisy, News, Thoughts 13 Comments »[Disclaimer : I know fuck-all about football, and generally couldn’t care less]
I really, truly do not understand the Football Association (FA).
In today’s news, John Terry has been given a four-match suspension, and a £220,000 fine for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a match last year. Fair enough, racial abuse is never right (even among footballers), and those doing these things should be punished.
Ah, but. In this case Terry had already been cleared back in July by Westminster Magistrate’s Court of the exact same offence.
So what I don’t understand is why someone can be cleared in a court of law, but punished by a player’s association? Or have I missed something relevant?
Calvin and Hobbes – Sponsorship
Posted: Thu 26 July, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Art, Cynicism, London Olympics 1 Comment »via YorkshireSoul
Calvin and Hobbes on corporate logos and clothing. (c) Bill Watterson, as always.
Brand Ownership
Posted: Wed 25 July, 2012 Filed under: Advertising, Cynicism, Marketing, Thoughts 2 Comments »If you ever want to be scared by how few mega-corporations there really are that own the great majority of well-known brands, this image should do it…
You can click on the image to get the full-size version.
It’s more US-centric than UK, but most of the brands involved are international anyway.
Alternative Version(s) of Free
Posted: Mon 23 July, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, Technology, Thoughts Leave a comment »While at the cinema this weekend, I saw an advert for the Nokia Lumia – this advert, in fact (although the final price was different)
Most of it’s nothing major, but the last five seconds or so hold the kicker.
“Free, from £15 per month”
And you’ve just got to wonder, how something that costs from £180 a year can be seen as free by anyone except marketers/advertisers.
Olympic Links
Posted: Sat 14 July, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, London Olympics, People, Thoughts 5 Comments »Lord, this is becoming a theme, isn’t it?
Another item in the long list of stupid bullshit that the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics are doing.
In this case, it’s an example of how draconian organisations really don’t understand complex concepts like Freedom of Speech, or t’Internet.
In London2012’s Terms of Use for the website, it says this…
5.a. Links to the Site. You may create your own link to the Site, provided that your link is in a text-only format. You may not use any link to the Site as a method of creating an unauthorised association between an organisation, business, goods or services and London 2012, and agree that no such link shall portray us or any other official London 2012 organisations (or our or their activities, products or services) in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise objectionable manner. The use of our logo or any other Olympic or London 2012 Mark(s) as a link to the Site is not permitted. View our guidelines on Use of the Games’ Marks.
(Bold emphasis is my own).
Yep, that’s right. You can’t link to the London 2012 Olympics website if you’re going to say nasty things about them.
Which is pretty fucking ridiculous, when you think about it.
Indeed, the links in this post almost certainly break those Terms. Ah well. Luckily the European Human Rights Act still allows me to say that in my opinion this kind of policy from the London Olympics is draconian bullshit.
Olympic Security
Posted: Thu 12 July, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, London Olympics, News, Thoughts 3 Comments »Another day, another Olympian feat of fuckuppery.
Today, it’s the news that 3,500 extra troops are being drafted in for Olympic security, in addition to the 13,500 already allocated to the job.
And why is this happening? Because ‘security group’ G4S (who used to be, if memory serves, Securicor, then Group 4) can’t guarantee that they can supply the full quota of 10,000 guards that they’ve been paid £300m to provide.
Some of the extra soldiers have only recently returned from postings overseas. And I wonder how many of them have also recently been told that they’re surplus to requirements ?
Chipless
Posted: Wed 11 July, 2012 Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Cynicism, London Olympics Leave a comment »Following on from other thoughts about Olympian Idiocy with regard to branding, rules and regulations, the following one came up today…
Yep – you can’t even get chips, except for McDonalds’ chips. (Or at least McDonalds soggy wet horrible version of chips)
Now, what I want to know is why on earth anyone would actually want to go to a venue/event so Draconian in its branding and obsession with sponsorship ? (Apparently, wearing a t-shirt that features non-Olympics sponsors has also recently been banned in the Olympic Park) If I want to see anything Olympian, I’ll be able to do so from home, wearing what I want, eating what I want, without feeling ripped off, abused, or corraled.
Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe that’s the plan. To stop the transport infrastructure etc. from imploding, maybe all of this is A Plan by Boris to stop people from wanting to go and see the Olympics at the venues?
UPDATED 12/7/12 – According to the Guardian, the ban has now been lifted.