# What the heck does the London 2012 Olympics logo mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2008, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153 "2008-08-07T13:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/41 "2008-08-15T16:06:44Z")
It’s a marketing fiasco - you pay thousands of pounds for a childs drawing of the number 2012. :rolleyes: :smack: From your link: **The number 2012 is our brand. It is universal and understandable worldwide Our emblem is simple, distinct, bold and buzzing with energy. Its form is inclusive yet consistent and has incredible flexibility to encourage access and participation. It can communicate with anyone from commercial organisations to kids playing sport. It feels young in spirit. Full of confidence, certainty and opportunity. Not afraid to shake things up, to challenge the accepted. To change things.** Translated, this means: Thanks for the money! Here is some meaningless drivel to reassure you that you didn’t completely waste it. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/42 "2008-08-15T16:14:22Z")
[QUOTE=Labrador Deceiver] It looks like it came straight out of the year 1985. [/QUOTE] I agree, it looks very 80’s retro…and not in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/43 "2008-08-15T16:28:46Z")
Now I can’t see anything but Lisa Simpson on her knees, fellating the 2 and 1. Thanks, Dopers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/44 "2008-08-15T16:29:56Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] £400,000 actually sounds cheap to me. It depends what, exactly, the £400,000 was for. There was another recent thread which touched on the cost of branding exercises, in which it was pointed out that it’s not just some guy sitting down with Photoshop and coming up with a cool logo. The proposed designs have to be tested, and once one is selected all the collateral material has to be changed to match the new brand… it’s a huge operation. [/QUOTE] This logo is just the number 2012 in a slightly deformed block pattern. Do you really think it’s worth £400,000? How many of these traits attributed to the logo do you agree with? : - universal - understandable worldwide - simple - distinct - bold - buzzing with energy - inclusive - consistent - has incredible flexibility to encourage access and participation - can communicate with anyone from commercial organisations to kids playing sport - young in spirit - full of confidence, certainty and opportunity - not afraid to shake things up If they just had the logo **‘London 2012’** , that would be simple, informative, understandable … and £400,000 cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/45 "2008-08-15T16:50:07Z")
The logo is bad. The corporate-speak makes me want to upchuck. It’s like they had a contest in the office to see how many silly buzzwords someone could cram into two paragraphs. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/46 "2008-08-15T17:01:11Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] …[1980 Moscow](http://www.aldaver.com/Images/Os/lg1980sm.gif) also had a cool feel to it… [/QUOTE] Agreed. Sometimes, rarely, the Commies got something right. ISTR that it was meant to evoke the famous tower of Lenin University, mebbe? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/47 "2008-08-15T17:04:15Z")
Someone on another site said it looks like it was designed for young people by old people who don’t understand young people. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/48 "2008-08-15T18:31:01Z")
[QUOTE=glee] This logo is just the number 2012 in a slightly deformed block pattern. Do you really think it’s worth £400,000? [/QUOTE] As I said, maybe the £400,000 wasn’t just for designing the logo. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/49 "2008-08-15T18:41:32Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] As I said, maybe the £400,000 wasn’t just for designing the logo. [/QUOTE] I suspect at least $10,000 of it went toward fellatio for the person who allocated the other $390,000. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/50 "2008-08-15T18:55:11Z")
That thing looks like it was ripped right out of a Duran Duran video. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153/51 "2008-08-15T19:09:33Z")
It instantly looks like “2012” to me, but I can’t say I like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-heck-does-the-london-2012-olympics-logo-mean/459153.md?page=2)