Even The Sex At The Olympics Is Sponsored

from the don't-f**k-without-the-official-olympic-rubber dept

We've had plenty of stories about the insane lengths the Olympics goes to in order to block out any appearance of a non-sponsor brand, including taping over the brands of non-sponsors on bathroom fixtures and urinals. And, apparently, the Olympics obsession with deleting all non-sponsorship brands extends almost to the point of contact when athletes decide to get down and dirty with each other.

Every couple years, when the Olympics roll around, there are stories like this one, about the volume of sexual activity in the Olympic Village among the athletes. And, if we go by condom count, the volume keeps on growing:

At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the Australian organizing committee distributed 45,000 free condoms in the village. Eight years later in Beijing, 70,000 condoms—labeled with the phrase ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’—were exhausted and 20,000 more were ordered. This year in London, the Olympic organizing committee is providing 150,000, using special dispensers which contain a message promoting sexual health. Averaged among 10,490 athletes, that’s enough condoms for every athlete to have sex 15 times over the Olympics’ three weeks

And, of course, the Olympics found a sponsor to pay up for the privilege of being where the rubber meets the... well, you know. Durex is the official condom of the games. But... uh oh, call in the brand police! BMX cyclist Caroline Buchanan tweeted a photo of free condoms available in the Olympic Village which (*gasp*!) were not made by Durex! And, indeed, the response from the Olympics was swift, as they began an investigation into this illicit behavior, because just think of all the problems if these athletes had sex with a non-sponsored condom! That cannot be allowed at all.

Filed Under: brand police, condoms, london 2012, olympics, sponsorship

Warner Bros. Upset About Harry Popper Condoms

from the for-your-magic-wand dept

Warner Bros. has certainly been aggressive over the years in lawyering up any time anyone does anything that appears to be Harry Potter related. For example, you might remember when the studio sued to stop a Bollywood movie called Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors, which sounded like an Indian version of Home Alone more than an attempt to copy JK Rowling's creation. Warner Bros. failed to win that case, but now it's taking on one that might have a bit more life.

Apparently, the company is quite upset and pulling out the legal guns against a condom maker who is offering "Harry Popper" condoms in Switzerland. While you could have a strong "moron in a hurry" argument that there's no likelihood of confusion here, the condom company's decision to anthropomorphize the condom with round glasses and waving a magic wand in its "hand" probably doesn't help its cause: I doubt anyone is confused into thinking this is somehow supported by either Warner Bros. or JK Rowling, it certainly does appear to be an attempt to build on the name recognition...

Filed Under: condoms, harry popper, harry potter, trademark
Companies: warner bros.