I'm a huge fan of the Olympics and this year's games were one of the best I have ever seen. From the opening ceremony to the Gymnastics, Track, and Synchronized Swimming teams, these games had it all.
Yeah, you read that right. Synchronized Swimming! Those ladies were more in sync than Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass riding on the backs of dolphins at a SeaWorld show.
But the ultimate gold medal winner in my mind, was the team responsible for branding the Paris Olympics, especially their logo.
I mean how classy is this?!? The gold medal colored hair! The torch! The lips! The way the "A" in the word Paris brings to mind the Eiffel Tower. It's simple and elegant, and although I've never been there, I feel like it captures everything I want to believe Paris is.
As a marketer, brand builder, and content creator, I know first-hand that capturing the essence and culture of a company, much less an entire city, is hard. Making it look effortless like the Paris design team did, is even harder. It's also a process that sometimes ends up falling a little short of greatness.
Think Jade Carey vs. Simone Biles. Both are good, but one is exceptional.
For every Apple, McDonalds, Amazon, and Nike, there are thousands of brands that try to vault into their customer's subconscious minds but never quite stick the landing. Why? Is it because they used the wrong colors, didn't understand their target audience, or weren't willing to spend enough money to market themselves correctly?
Maybe. But take a look at the logo design for the 2012 London Olympics:
The judges' scores are in and…I’m giving it a 2.2 out of 10. I mean, surely they had access to a similar talent pool and marketing dollars that Paris did, right? In my opinion, the design of the London Olympics logo is the equivalent of what would happen if I competed in the Olympic Hurdles event. Which, if you're wondering, would go something like this:
False start, run, wheeze, jump, pull a hammy, trip on a hurdle, fall clumsily, skin my knee, cry, finish dead last, force a smile, wave to the crowd as if nothing happened, and then wake up the next morning and tell myself “better luck next time.”
And that's exactly what I think the design team for the London Olympics did. Now before you start accusing me of being insensitive or assume I have some weird obsession with all things Paris (Umm..Ratatouille is THE best animated Disney movie of the past twenty years, prove me wrong!) just know that I'm not alone.
Don't believe me? Go ahead and google "London Olympics logo."
I feel ya Sun, I feel ya. So what's the biggest lesson we can learn from the polar opposite designs of the Paris and London Olympic Brands? It's simple. Whether you're a marketer, a designer, a brand builder, a construction worker, or a white-collar executive, remember this:
You're going to fail.
And that's ok. It happens to the best of us. But as long as you recognize and learn from them, your failures will eventually lead to success, both for you and someone else. I bet the Paris design team thanks London everyday for showing them exactly what NOT to do. Your work isn't always going to be great. You're going to have bad, uninspired days. And just like the London design team, sometimes you're straight-up going to suck.
But, if you set the bar high, surround yourself with outstanding teammates, and run every race with confidence and class, someday you might be a gold medal winner, too.
Just like Paris.