Mccann Chief Stirs Up Logo Row
Only days after officially launching its partnership deal with London 2012, marketing services group McCann Worldgroup has walked straight into a media storm after the firm’s chief executive Brett Gosper admitted that he wouldn’t have picked the official Games logo.
Speaking in an interview with The Financial Times, Gosper responded to questions over whether he liked the official London 2012 logo with a lukewarm answer.
He stated: ‘For us, it’s irrelevant whether we like it or not. My personal opinion is not that relevant.’
Asked if he would have designed such a logo, he responded: ‘Probably not.’
The logo caused a storm of controversy when it was released by the design agency Wolff Olins in 2007 with many observers criticising its design – an issue not helped when it caused one viewer to have an epileptic fit when watching a promotional video for its launch.
However, Gosper was not wholly negative regarding the design stating that the logo had had a huge impact and had garnered a lot of publicity for the Games.
He said: ‘It has huge impact and awareness. It is famous or infamous. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.’
London 2012 officials expressed unhappiness at the comments of the McCann Worldgroup chief.
‘This is surprising given we are working closely with McCann to develop the logo across various creative platforms between now and Games time in 2012,’ said an official spokesperson for organising committee LOCOG.
