London Olympics 2012 logo design.

Half a million quid. One year in the making…and this is it…

London Olympics 2012 logo

Could it be any worse if it tried?

I don’t even understand what was wrong with the original logo!

It had all the elements, was clear and pleasant and it had the Olympic ribbon flowing in the iconic shape of the Thames through London.

~~Sign the petition to have it changed!!~~
NOTE: In a bizarre move, the petition has been closed after 48,615 signatures. BUT there’s a new petition!

Update: Some BBC website users sent in their own versions of the logo and they were far better, and all done in ten minutes for free! There

UPDATE: 6th June: Here’s an interview on this evening’s edition of Radio 4’s PM show, with Eddie Mair interviewing Michael Wolff, who setup the agency Wolff Olins and tries to explain the logo, however, as the interview notes, he’s not with the company now. Click to listen.

Also, check out the 606 and Have Your Say sections of BBC News. Some choice comments on there so far are…

30 years in advertising has taught me this:

1st rule in advertising: If it needs explaining it is very badly wrong.

2nd Rule: You can be the most talked about brand in the world, but if most of that talk is derision - sack the marketing company.

3rd rule: Never let the client realise how much we have just ripped them off by.

Oh dear, seems the new logo fits all three conditions!

And

Fragmented, cracked and with pieces that don’t fit. I’d say it symbolised Britian today perfectly.

UPDATE 2:

There’s so much talent out there, so many decent graphic artists, yet the UK is, once again, the laughing stock of the world..and the whole world is laughing at our new Olympics 2012 logo.

BUT - I think there’s actually a chance to get this logo changed. Signing a net petition alone isn’t going to do much, but you could contact your MP via http://www.writetothem.com/

The, ahem, “creative agency” that took one year and FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS to come up with this work of genius is called Wolff Olins. http://www.wolffolins.com/contactus.htm

I think it’s your duty to pick up the phone and send them an email. I just called them, and spoke to a very harassed sounding bloke who said:
“You’re from the BBC aren’t you? You sound like you’re from the BBC. What is your problem with this - you know, it’s a job, someone’s got to do it.” Okaaaaay….
So, here’s their number:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 7733
And here’s their email address which you can plaster on as many websites as you like.
info@wolff-olins.com

You could also contact The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games on +44 (0) 203 2012 000 or write to:

London 2012
One Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LN

Basically, we’ve paid £400,000 for this, and this just represents a microcosm of the enormous and scandalous waste of money that’s being thrown down the drain

Depending on how much time you’ve got, you could also do the following:

Vote for an alternative logo - I like the logo by Richard Voysey, which appears as picture number three horizontal list, but confusingly appears as the second item in the selection list, which is called number one! Lots of people have been confused by this apparently.
AND THE WINNER IS! Richard Voysey of Voysey Graphic Arts Ltd, with this logo:
Richard Voysey winning logo