ToddCop's Now Wait A Minute

This post previously ran on Mediapost’s Marketing Daily and IQ Interactive’s blog.

Ah yes — the hazy, lazy days of summer, when marketing slips into a heat-induced coma. The pace seems a little slower, the controversies a bit duller and social media just plain boring.

Even the Olympics, that quadrennial bastion of sports and marketing, muzzled its social media armed athletes to assure their tweets, status updates and photos are only happy, happy.

But fear not – several companies failed to get the memo and are stepping up their game in flagrant disregard of the trend. While other brands are stretched out on a hammock in hopes of a cool breeze, a few hardy souls have tightened the laces on their running shoes.

Preparing To Run

These are the brands that have followed guidance from experts like the Altimeter Group. In case you haven’t read their guidance — and you should — Altimeter suggests that companies go through something of a process as they move into social media and content creation. They compare this actualization process to a runner.

1. Stand – the process of having a pulse and curiosity of what’s going on out there.
2. Stretch – The tentative first movements in the social world, starting to advocate inclusion of social media and experimentation.
3. Walk – The point where there’s enough forward momentum to build strategy and process.
4. Jog – Leaning forward enough that the organization is discovering and exploiting sources of content.
5. Run – Finally reaching the point where the content comes so naturally that you get results that are monetizable (if that’s not a word, it should be).

So what does running look like? I’d suggest you picture an Oreo cookie. To be precise, a six-layer Oreo with a rainbow of cream filling colors that looks like the Gay Pride flag. Because that’s exactly what Kraft trotted out on Oreo’s Facebook page last month.

The Photoshopped image was the kickoff to a campaign for Oreo’s 100th birthday. But in the midst of the summer doldrums it was a stun grenade thrown through the door. The blast and shock wave were instantaneous.

Oreos Are Gay?!

In the first 17 hours more than 157,000 people “liked” the image, 40,000 people shared it and 20,000 commented on it. And then it really got popular.

“Dear God… Oreos are gay!” Stephen Colbert mocked on his show. “I should have known something was fishy when those ‘homosnacksuals’ got me to consent to consensual double-stuffing!”

The one picture unleashed a tidal wave of discussion, ranging from assertions that this validates that gay marriage is a mainstream value now to the calls for a boycott.

But here’s the thing about an organization that has gone through the steps of Altimeter’s process, or any similar progression. They understand that having a point of view on social media means respecting those with an opposite perspective. They don’t panic. They don’t have knee-jerk reactions.

Staying Cool Under Pressure

So when ABC News went looking for Oreo’s reaction all they got was calm, cool, collected response, and it came through in the resulting story.

“Basil Maglaris, a spokeswoman for Oreo’s parent company Kraft Foods, said in a statement that the image was part of a “series of daily ads reflecting current events in a fun way using images of OREO cookies and milk.” Kraft is not planning to sell the rainbow-stuffed Oreo in stores, Maglaris said, as it was created solely for the advertising campaign in honor of Pride month.

“We are excited to illustrate what is making history today in a fun and playful way,” she said in an email to ABC News. “As a company, Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the OREO ad is a fun reflection of our values.”

Notice the confidence in that statement? There’s no fear of pending disaster, nor is there end zone celebration by a company trying to maximize the PR impact.

Kraft had a plan, a process and a point of view. It went into the campaign fully understanding that reaction was likely. They may not have planned on the image becoming so instantly iconic that it ended up on the evening news or “Colbert Report.” But when it did that didn’t change anything.

So to Altimeter’s five steps I’d humbly suggest a sixth. The cool-down — The confidence and wisdom necessary so that when things go big or go bad you act like you’ve been there before.

That’s just something to ponder while you’re napping on that comfy hammock on a gentle summer day.

Sunday night’s closing ceremonies proved to be a helluva showcase, both for the London 2012 organizers and even more so for NBC’s arrogance.

In London and around the rest of the world, audiences capped off a raucous event with a spectacular live performance by The Who. Here in America, we watched the pilot episode of a doomed comedy about an animal hospital.

All day, NBC touted the lineup of bands for the closing ceremonies. They told people to look for the Spice Girls, George Michael, and Queen. Throughout the heavily edited ceremonies, they kept rolling promotion on who was coming up. But when it came time for the grand finale, NBC opted to pull a fast one on viewers.

With no warning, viewers were instructed to wait an hour (until midnight in some time zones) because first the network was going to air an episode of Animal Practice. After repeatedly poking viewers in the eye throughout the games, NBC marketing executives decided we needed one last slap to the head before they packed for home.

The Online Alternatives

The BBC offered its viewers a vastly superior online experience, with enhanced video streams that included real-time indexing and easy to use options.

London may have found a great way to balance commercial interests with great showmanship, but NBC would have none of it. Whether it was ads injected in video streams at inopportune moments, dubious decisions on which sports to air on which network, or the relentless manipulation of the prime-time broadcast, NBC put little value on the wants of its audience.

The network will point to record ratings as proof of its success. People will vote with their remotes, we’ve been told. But how do you vote in a one-candidate race?

True, NBC did offer every event online live, an announcement that, at the time, seemed like a quantum leap forward in the network’s embrace of the digital age. Only it really wasn’t NBC’s magnanimous gesture so much as it was the network’s acceptance that the videos were going to be offered by all the other countries, so it had no choice.

For those who ventured online, NBC offered a video service plagued with glitches and relatively few controls. If you missed something live and wanted to get it online you got a commentary-free feed (consider that good or bad). But there was no way to skip to a highlight or navigate to key moments.

I often opted for the BBC’s online service because it demonstrated an understanding of what makes online viewing enjoyable—options and controls. The feeds were rich and in high-resolution, even when maximized to full-screen.

NBC partnered with YouTube for the feeds, yet it seemed to ignore all the innovation YouTube has brought to online video. Seriously, we live in the country that has revolutionized the Internet for two decades, and we can’t offer something more impressive for the world’s biggest event?

Losing The Big Moments

And yet for many the Olympics are not an online viewing event. As a friend of mine explained, she grew up sharing the Olympics with her family gathered on the couch. “I’m not going to get that big moment on a computer screen.”

Which brings me back to prime time. I will gladly set aside the manipulation of prepackaged athlete stories that must air right before the big moment. I’ll even accede to, albeit grudgingly, the blatant bias for stories of Americans even when there were epic tales from all corners of the world.

What I can’t excuse is NBC’s heavy hammer of self-promotion at the cost of viewers’ time. Maybe viewers should just expect that the big event of the day will air just before the late news. But that’s not how NBC promotes it. Instead they break it up into little bites, peppered throughout the broadcast.

This year we learned that live streams and social media will not dilute the prime-time audience. Indeed, the buzz often helped build it. But as more and more people learn to use the digital space—and as they discover how to stream video, even feeds from other countries, to their televisions—the pressure will build for NBC to change its ways.

Sadly, I firmly believe NBC will fight innovation tooth and nail, opting instead to force feed us Animal Practice or some other pabulum. The athletes of the London 2012 Olympics may have reached for greatness. NBC apparently had no such aspirations.

About Project TILWO — I watched London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then shared the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

Shame on you NBC. Shame on you for putting self-promotion ahead of the viewing public.

Also in this post:
Mascots – ultimate focus group failure

Shame on you for leaving millions of Americans, and more disturbingly the nation’s youth, out of luck when the USA women’s soccer team played for gold.

Thursday, tens of millions of viewers around the world watched the culmination of the arguably greatest women’s soccer tournament to date. But if you don’t have cable you were out of luck.

NBC didn’t broadcast the game on its main network. Instead they relegated it to NBC Sports, formerly Versus network, that’s only available on cable networks.

If you don’t have cable then you didn’t see this.
via Reuters

So while the rest of the world was enjoying US vs. Japan in 120 minutes of intense action, NBC broadcast viewers were watching a bronze medal match in women’s water polo. Why would NBC put a gold medal event, one of enough importance that it led the national news later that night, on a secondary network?

There are a couple of theories, but both come down to money.

Theory 1 – Soccer is not commercial-friendly, and air time on the main NBC network is very valuable. Either they worried not enough people would watch to justify the ad spend, or that there weren’t enough commercial slots.

The problem with this theory is that the audience was huge. At Wembley Stadium 80,000 people filled the stands, more than any other game to date and equal to the number of people at Olympic Stadium watching Usain Bolt go for his second gold medal.

And NBC aired the US vs. Canada women’s game on the main network on Monday, so I doubt that’s it. And if commercials were really a concern, Fox Sports has demonstrated with its NASCAR coverage that split-screen works just fine for ringing the register while not cutting away from the action.

Theory 2 – NBC wanted to build awareness of its new NBC Sports network and there’s no better way than a showcase event. This is the theory shared by my former colleague and veteran TV critic Ed Bark.

“They’re trying to put NBC Sports Net on the map after taking over Versus. But still would have put this one on main NBC,” Ed said in a message. (Here’s Ed’s take from CNN on NBC’s efforts from earlier in the Olympics.)

I think he’s right, which is why I am so angry with NBC.

NBC certainly wasn’t saving the event for the prime time show; indeed it got only a summary review. And they were promoting it heavily all morning on the broadcast network.

But only 43% of US homes have cable, according to industry reports. So the majority of US homes couldn’t watch the event. Nor could they watch it on NBC’s much hyped NBCOlympics.com. That’s because to see the video you have to enter your cable or satellite log in. No cable, no video.

And without access to the broadcast, American youth suffered. That’s not just hyperbole.

Girls’ and women’s soccer in this country has grown by leaps and bounds since the game first entered the Olympics in 1996. Today there are seven million girls under the age of 18 playing soccer, a figure that’s grown 200 percent since the Atlanta Olympics.

It was in that inaugural tournament that the US won its first gold medal. And yes, NBC broadcast the entire event, live.

Mascots – Ultimate Focus Group Failure

Have you seen these guys? If you’re lucky, the answer is no. Meet Wenlock and Mandeville, the official mascots of the London 2012 games. Um, what the hell are they? you might reasonably ask.

Well there are lots of theories. Some have suggested bottle openers. The more cynical have pointed out their similarities to the security cameras that ring London. And one Canadian newspaper suggested they were the result of, “a drunken one-night stand between a Teletubby and a Dalek.” (For reference, Daleks are a laughable alien threat from the BBC’s Doctor Who.)

In truth, the things are allegedly droplets of steel, left over from construction of the Olympic Stadium, according to their creation story shared on YouTube. They were designed by Iris Worldwide and reportedly vetted in more than 40 focus groups, which should really tell you everything you need to know. But their creator offered a spirited defense of the blobs on Slate.

But before you lay into the agency, or organizers, ask yourself, can you recall the mascots from any of the Olympics? For that matter, can anyone explain why the Olympics need a mascot at all?

About Project TILWO — I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

And we have a winner for the best product placement at the 2012 Olympics in London… BMW’s Mini Cooper. Chevrolet, take note; while you’re spending hundreds of millions, the iconic Mini is holding classes in how it’s done: low-key and with class.

Also in this post:
P&G shows NBC how it’s done

Product placement is the gold mine of marketing these days—that is, placing your product in a beloved program or movie where it becomes an unsung star. Viewers see it over and over, cementing the brand’s status.

Quarter-scale genius. See it in action here.

At the London 2012 games, BMW has scored a one-two combination. A fleet of 160 electric Mini Coopers zip athletes and officials between venues. But the real star has become a new model that you’ll never see on the streets, the mini Mini.

The quarter-scale orange and blue remote control cars can be seen dozens of times during track and field coverage, zipping round the field returning javelins, discs, and shots to the athletes. They’ve garnered global news coverage, even as Usain Bolt and others demand the spotlight.

Most amazingly of all, there isn’t a single BMW or Mini Cooper logo on either the full-size car or the mini Mini. Can you imagine any other brand supplying a fleet of products and not demanding a logo placement?

Back in 1996, Chevrolet insisted on blasting its bow-tie logo into the opening ceremonies of the Atlanta games, even as its pickup trucks were racing around the stadium floor. Mini doesn’t need it. The cars are iconic. When your product is instantly recognizable you don’t worry about bashing the public over the head with your message.

But since the remote control cars grabbed my attention, I took time to find out a few details. There are only 3 of them, and they weigh 55 pounds apiece. The sun roof retracts to allow field judges to place the equipment, and the cars sport heavy-duty shock absorbers to deal with the weight of the shot put.

They’ll tally about 3.7 miles a day working four-hour shifts. And yes, the headlights work. Sadly there’s no suggestion that they’ll be available for sale to the public.

P&G Shows NBC How It’s Done

Maybe NBC Sports should hire some writers from Wieden + Kennedy in Portland for those over-the-top athlete profile pieces it uses to string us along before showing the prime-time events that we’re actually waiting to see.

P&G debuted its Olympic campaign, Proud Sponsors of Mom, back in April with a wonderful and powerful commercial reminding us that behind every Olympian is a mom (or dad) who was with the athlete every step of the way. The commercial has been viewed on YouTube more than five million times.

Since then, the campaign continues to nail it with commercials in which athletes thank their moms, and a Facebook app where 38,000 people have posted their own thanks. At the games, P&G has hosted numerous events for moms, and print ads feature medalists in youthful photos, the way their moms remember them.

At every turn P&G demonstrates that you can tap powerful emotions without trite scripts and melodramatic narratives. Compare this piece from P&G called Raising an Olympian with anything you’ll see in prime time tonight. NBC are you paying attention?

About Project TILWO — I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

There’s just something impressive about quitting in style. Every time I watch diving events there is a tiny part of my brain praying that someone will yell “Cannonball!” as they take their final dive. Just once.

Also in this post:
Nothing Says Scandal Like Badminton
Not Fair, We Weren’t Winning

If you can’t win a medal, why not make a name for yourself? But what the hell is going on with these athletes who are just phoning it in and then getting disqualified?

That’s all, I don’t run anymore.

The latest was an Algerian runner, Taoufik Makhloufi. After qualifying for the 1,500-meter final, where he apparently has a shot at a medal, Makhloufi was none too thrilled that his team still wanted him to run in an 800-meter preliminary a short time later.

So, after running just a portion of the race, the Algerian runner sat down. That didn’t go over well with the field referee, who said Makhloufi failed to make a good faith effort to compete, and disqualified him from further events.

Algeria claimed he really was injured, but appealed the ruling, just in case he got better in time for the finals of the 1,500 on Tuesday. Lo and behold, the organizers decided he probably was hurt, and reinstated him. At which point Algeria announced the runner would likely recover in time for the finals.

As Dana Carvey’s Church Lady would say, How con-VEEN-ient!

Nothing Says Scandal Like Badminton

And you win a black card.

At least Makhloufi put in the effort to come up with an excuse. Last week we had badminton-gate, in which teams from China, Indonesia, and South Korea admitted they were trying to lose a game in the round-robin tournament to draw a better opponent in the next round.

They were booted, causing more people to discuss badminton in one day than in the entire previous century combined.

Then we have the coach of the Japanese women’s soccer team — the defending FIFA World Cup champions — who told his team to not win in a game against a rather weak South African team. Well he didn’t say lose, he just told them not to score.

“It was a different way of playing compared to the usual game, but the players were on the same page as me,” the coach said after the game. The reason, he explained, was that the team didn’t want to travel for its quarter-final game.

A different way to play?! Amazingly, the governing body over women’s soccer opted not to discipline the coach, saying there wasn’t sufficient evidence to investigate. Oh, ok.

Not Fair, We Weren’t Winning

But the winner for losing in the most ridiculous way goes to Great Britain’s Philip Hindes, a member of the cycling team that eventually won the gold medal. Seems Hindes didn’t like the start his team got, so he crashed.

“I just crashed; I did it on purpose to get a restart, just to have the fastest ride,” he told reporters. Because teams can get a second start, he figured no harm no foul.

As best I can tell, this is the cycling equivalent of saying the wind knocked over the chessboard when you used your knee to push it off the table. But as soon as the judges started sniffing around, the 19-year-old German-born cyclist insisted he was misunderstood.

And just in case you think this is an example of playing favorites for the home town, an IOC spokesman explained it all to the BBC.

“People were not deprived of a competition, unlike in the badminton. A race took place and best efforts were made by the British team,” said the IOC’s Mark Adams.

“They see no reason to question the result and neither do we. This is a matter of degree and judgement. In the case of the badminton it clearly crossed the line.”

Got it? Yeah, me neither. But I give up.

About Project TILWO — Every day I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

As if Ryan Lochte hasn’t done enough to hurt his sponsorship value in the pool, his mom was willing to torpedo him in an interview with NBC. With a mom like that, who needs enemies?

Going into the London 2012 games, Lochte was heir apparent to Michael Phelps’ sponsorship bonanza following the 2008 Olympics. Even before the first heat, Lochte was featured on the covers of Vogue, Men’s Health, and the biggie, TIME Magazine.

As of Saturday, Lochte reportedly had $2.3 million in sponsorships already in hand, according to Forbes. But his objective was to break Phelps’ reported $6 million after the Beijing games.

Lochte was in a good position to bank that kind of money for three reasons, according to sports economist Patrick Rishe.

1. 

   “Why not tell the whole world that your son is a slut and can’t commit to a woman?”

   He’s more fresh in the public consciousness than Phelps

2. He’s less guarded, more presentable, and more well-spoken than Phelps
3. He’s outwardly personable and less diva-ish.

Which brings me to Mamma Lochte’s interview. Ike Lochte was trying to explain what a hard worker her boy was and why he didn’t have time for romance.

“He goes out on one-night stands,” she said. “He’s not able to give fully to a relationship because he’s always on the go.” She didn’t say he’s just too busy. No, mamma had to boast that her son is a player who satisfies his urges with a string of women.

So how will that go over with the public, especially women? You don’t really have to ask.

“This raises a lot of questions. Let’s start with a show of hands: Who else’s mom knows how much tail you’re getting? Who else is having conversations with the woman who gave birth to you that may involve the words “hooking up” and “booty call”? ” asked Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon.

Jen at People I Want to Punch in the Throat was far more blunt, “Why not tell the whole world that your son is a slut and can’t commit to a woman, but would rather just love ‘em and leave ‘em.”

It really shouldn’t be a question of whether or not this will hurt his sponsorship value. It should. But we live in a world where rappers rake in millions with music that objectifies women. And we are talking about a swimmer who sports diamond grills and gets upset when he can’t sport his bling on the medal stand.

Sadly, somewhere out there right now is an audience that thinks Ryan Lochte is a hero.

About Project TILWO — Every day I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

Sure, you could watch all 3500 hours of streaming video to stay up to date on the London 2012 games. But odds are you’ve got a life. Thankfully, The Wall Street Journal has a large supply of Popsicle sticks.

Also in this post:
Authorize this

News outlets around the world are in a real bind. There are strict rules about how much video footage they can use, and when they can have access to it, for their stories about the Olympic games.

That makes it a real challenging for serious publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian in the UK. Which is why they’ve decided that a bit of mockery can be just the solution.

Badminton controversy via WSJ.com’s Homemade highlights.
(Click to watch.)

“If you missed it – here’s our cheeky way round NBC’s broadcasting regs,” The Journal offered when it posted its Homemade Highlights on YouTube. The video starts out with the high production quality you’d expect from WSJ, until this comes up.

“NBC paid over $1 billion to broadcast the London Olympics. The Wall Street Journal paid… Less than that.”

What follows is a recreation of the day’s top story, featuring what can charitably be described as a child’s puppet stage with athletes’ faces glued on Popsicle sticks and clothespins. The action plays out in rather jerky motion as a British Australian announcer covers the highlights.

McKayla Maroney mid vault in Lego. via The Guardian’s Brick-by-brick.
(Click to watch.)

“LOL this is EPIC. I may have to revise my estimation of the WSJ as stuffy and stale,” one viewer posted on YouTube. On Twitter the hashtag #homemadehighlights continues to re-post the videos.

At The Guardian in London they apparently had a bit more time on their hands, as they’ve launched Brick-by-brick, re-creations of key Olympics highlights. You really haven’t seen sports until you see the US women’s gymnastics team in Lego, or fencing with Star Wars stormtrooper figures.

Authorize This

Usain - Not every man wants to be the fastest in the world.

There may be no organization more ruthless in protecting its brand than the Olympics. As people in any host city will tell you, the International Olympic Committee can be brutal in its determination not to let anyone use anything Olympic-related for commerce unless they pay a fee. That includes the word Olympics, the URL London2012.com, and of course every variant of the logo.

The Olympic police have busted London bakers, florists, and even meat shops that were offering products in the familiar shape of the interlocking rings. They even convinced the British Parliament to pass a law upping the penalties for misappropriation of the marks.

And yet scofflaws persist. Whether it’s Banksy‘s latest of a javelin thrower using a missile, or a church urging parishioners to “Go for God.”

Now a UK artist is compiling the best of the offenses into a coffee table book called Illegal Olympics. Crag Atkinson, who likes to specialize in “transient” art, said he is intrigued by merchants who are determined to be part of the Olympic moment.

“My personal view is that the Olympic branding laws are too harsh and prevent the ‘British Spirit’,” he said on a site previewing the images people have sent him. “I am documenting something that won’t last, but which is here now.”

No word yet if he’ll include clothespin or Lego contributions.

About Project TILWO — Every day I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

“@nbcsports Thanks for the breaking news email about the gymnastics results…8 hours before YOU broadcasted it on TV. COME ON! #NBCFAIL”

“Gosh I hope the women’s gymnasts win the gold medal in team competition tonight, like they did this afternoon #NBCfail”

Yes, within a matter of seconds NBC got slammed both for letting slip that US women had won a gold medal in gymnastics and for acting during the prime-time broadcast like no one would know. Talk about a no-win situation.

But no one seems to understand that the real problem isn’t the network. It’s everyone who plops down on the couch and turns on NBC in prime time. Or, more to the point, it’s about the money.

This was the year that NBC was going to let viewers have it their way. If you wanted to see the sports live it was all there online, in real-time without the pre-packaged stories or even announcers in many cases. Or, if you like the prime-time approach, then you could ignore it all until you got home and were all set with your remote and a bag of popcorn.

“Like a savvy butcher, the network finally learned to use all parts of the pig and will air 5,535 total TV/online hours — up from 170 hours for the 1996 Atlanta Games,” USA Today said before the games started.

Welcome to the world of NBC Sports programmers.

The flaw in that plan was that it failed to account for the massive digital mess that covers us throughout the day. Consider, for example, what happened on Tuesday when the USA women’s gymnastics team won its first team gold medal since 1996.

Just before 2 p.m. anyone signed up for news alerts from NBC learned about the victory by email or text message. What else would you expect from a world-class news organization?

Yet in offices, carpool lanes, and at Starbucks around the country, you heard people complaining that they didn’t want to know the results before prime time. I heard a shouting match break out between people at my daughter’s soccer practice. One woman was discussing the win, while another nearby had fastidiously avoided going online and was wanting to see the drama unfold on TV.

At the root of the battle is a simple formula. No matter how much NBC pumps up its digital coverage and daytime broadcasts, prime time advertising still rules the roost. And the figures released Tuesday reinforce the point.

NBC will set a record for online ad revenue during the Olympics, $60 million so far, according to Investor’s Business Daily. That’s already three times the digital advertising total from all of the 2008 Olympics in Bejing.

But that’s a pittance compared to the $1 billion the network is projected to make from broadcast ad revenues, and the lion’s share of those come from the evening show. Now before you roll your eyes at the size of the revenue, keep in mind that NBC spent $1.18 billion for the rights to these games.

From NBC’s perspective, pumping up digital is fine, but in the end it’s all about the broadcast. And the facts seem to support the logic.

Saturday was arguably the first big story moment, the 400M Individual Medley race where Ryan Lochte won gold and Michael Phelps came in fourth. NBC said more than 943,000 video streams were running during the race. It was not shown live on any of NBC’s TV networks. But more than five hours later NBC scored a 24 share with its prime-time coverage. Millions and millions of viewers voted with their remote for the delayed coverage.

“We have believed from the beginning that a multi-platform approach to surrounding consumers with Olympic programming leading to a prime time on NBC would make people want to gather even if they knew the results,” NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus said on Tuesday. “We still have a ways to go. But that seems to be playing out quite well.”

So you can blame NBC all you want. But if you watch the Olympics in prime time then I blame you.

About Project TILWO — Every day I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

The peacock network needs to pull up its big boy pants and get back to work. Instead NBC Sports seems intent on pulling whatever strings it can to silence its critics.
See update at the end of this item. Update #2 – @GuyAdams account was reinstated after NBC retracted their complaint. (See below.) Update #3 – Twitter finally comes clean and apologizes.

Also in today’s post:
The horse jumped
over the moon, and farm…

In a stunning display of corporate heavy-handedness, NBC managed to kill the Twitter account of Guy Adams. Whether or not you’ve heard of him is less the issue than the chill of NBC’s actions.

via Deadspin.com

What exactly did Mr. Adams do to offend the mighty network? Well according to NBC Sports (via news reports) he had the audacity to post this:

“The man responsible for NBC pretending the Olympics haven’t started yet is Gary Zenkel. Tell him what u think! Email: Gary.zenkel@nbcuni.com”

NBC promptly complained that Adams had published a personal email address, a violation of Twitter’s rules. Twitter, which just so happens to be a partner in NBC’s coverage of the London games, in turn cancelled Adams’ account.

But Adams isn’t just some guy in Peoria railing against inane color commentary and urging people to protest NBC’s coverage. He’s a US-based writer for The Independent, a paper in the UK and online. So his criticism were getting serious exposure. Here’s a sampling of what Adams had to say about NBC.

• “Matt Lauer would do well to shut up, wouldn’t he?”
• “Techcrunch call @NBColympics total buffoons http://t.co/1DYypK0T Sums up why Gary Zenkel, moronic exec behind the time delay, shd be fired
• “America’s left coast forced to watch Olympic ceremony on SIX HOUR time delay. Disgusting money-grabbing by @NBColympics http://t.co/bQxKCCdj“

Of course they’re getting even more now, and that’s NBC’s fault. What TV network, what news and sports organization, doesn’t realize by now that the surest way to give someone a bigger spotlight is to try to muzzle them?

Imagine for a moment the outrage if Twitter cancelled Matt Lauer’s account because of a post. The network would be firing on all cylinders thrashing the social network and demanding the situation be reversed.

Look, clearly I’m certainly no fan of NBC’s coverage. And Twitter has been full of criticism and mocking. #NBCFail has been very active with criticism of the tape delay and actual coverage. (Twitter has even taken to putting sponsored tweets atop the feed to make money on the rants.) There’s even the mocking @NBCDelayed that has quickly earned a following with tweets like this:

BREAKING: Governor George W. Bush wins Florida, declared President-Elect. VP Gore to challenge.

— NBC Delayed (@NBCDelayed) July 29, 2012

I understand that paying $40 billion to broadcast the Olympics for the next three decades means that NBC can pretty much do what it wants. And I applaud the network for making all the games available online in real-time. But please stop acting like people sitting down to prime time coverage are getting the experience as it happens. It insults our intelligence.

And quit whining about your critics.

UPDATE: Several readers have noted that Twitter has treated NBC’s critic very differently than it did director Spike Lee when he tweeted a home address for the alleged gunman in the Trayvon Martin shooting. And in that case he got the address wrong, victimizing an elderly couple. Shame on Twitter for giving in to NBC.

Twitter emails to tell me: “we have just received an update from the complainant retracting their original request…”

— Guy Adams (@guyadams) July 31, 2012

The Horse Jumped Over the Moon, and Farm…

On Monday I learned that horse events (sorry, equestrian events) at the Olympics are kind of a big deal. The team and individual cross country event was carried live on both BBC and NBC networks, and thousands of message were flying from spectators and fans as it happened. In fact, #eventinglive was one of the top trends on Twitter as the action went down.

Watching was all the more fun because designers created a course that looks like it was intended for miniature golf more so than for horses. Horses were flying over chess boards and log cabins, through diamonds and, of course, over the moon. As one of my equestrian loving friends,  @Rachel_Walters, noted, “There is imagination in course design but this is on another level.”

I took a particular liking to Swedish rider Niklas Lindback. But that probably had something to do with the fact that his horse was named Mister Pooh.

By far the coolest thing I saw was the inflatable emergency vests that some of the riders were wearing. Like an airbag in your car, the vest inflates the instant a rider gets thrown, protecting the ribs, neck and back. Check out this sales video. There has to be some great alternative uses for technology like that.

About Project TILWO — Every day I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.

It takes years of hard work, pain, and sacrifice to represent your team at the Olympics. Or you just seize the moment and grab a walk-on role.

World, meet Madhura Honey.

Also in this post:
This tweet’s for you
Insight from the stands
Well alright then

You’d be forgiven for not knowing who she is. But if you were watching the opening ceremonies you might have caught a glimpse of her, maybe even a few seconds. Here is the newscast dissecting the incident.

Now starring in a walk-on role.

As the Indian national team walked on in their beautiful black and gold costumes, Honey led the pack in decidedly less impressive blue pants and blazing red shirt.

Yeah, that wasn’t part of the plan. The young lady from Bangalore was a volunteer selected to dance in the opening ceremonies. Just how she managed to walk on with the team is the big question.

“This was bizarre. We will ask for an apology,” the head of the Indian team said. “The Indian contingent was shown for just 10 seconds and to think this lady hogged all the limelight.”

The Internet world is not waiting for answers, or apologies. In typical form, Twitter exploded with all kinds of posts, 20 per minute, more than 48 hours after the incident.

And of course she was edited into hundreds of photos, from the royal wedding and presidential inaugurations to all sorts of sporting events. Indeed, Yahoo India offered users a cut-out of Honey to make the work easier.

This Tweet’s For You

Late Sunday, athletes started an online protest against IOC rules that prohibit them from appearing in ads for any company except official sponsors. That includes brands that invest millions in athletes like Nike and Red Bull.

Using the hashtags WeDemandChange2012 and Rule40 (the IOC rule at issue), the athletes let loose on Twitter. Sanya Richards-Ross kicked off the protest by using a profile photo of a Nike ad.

I am honored to be an Olympian, but #WeDemandChange2012 #Rule40@nbcolympics

— Sanya Richards-Ross (@SanyaRichiRoss) July 29, 2012

Several people jumping in on the protest noted the irony of a rule that protects advertisers like Coke and McDonalds at the expense of smaller athletics companies. But for athletes it seems to be about how they earn a living from the training they’ve invested.

“I am PROUD to represent my Country… but at the end of the day… THIS IS MY JOB!!!!!! #WeDemandChange of #Rule40 @NBCOlympics,” posted track and field Olympian Manteo Mitchell.

It’s easy to write this off as athletes wanting their money. But in this integrated media age, it’s worth considering just how much protection a sponsorship should provide.

Insight From the Stands

One of the greatest additions to the Olympics this time around is the number of people who are sitting in the stands and sharing the moment via Twitter, Instagram, and other social media.

Lisa Targett reminded us that no marketing agency can hold a candle to the efforts of an Olympic parent rallying support for his or her child.

“Cool dad next to me handing these out. Love it! @ London 2012 – Aquatics Centre,” she tweeted from the aquatic center.

The effort paid off, according to Thoman’s Facebook page (he’s taken a hiatus from Twitter); the swimmer did well in his races this weekend and is within striking distance of a medal.

Well Alright Then

As long as we’re talking about Twitter, Dr. Ruth Westheimer is alive and well, offering advice in 140 character doses. And she wants to know those feelings you have watching the games are okay.

Olympics is all about young perfect bodies exercising in skimpy outfits. It should turn you on!

— Dr. Ruth Westheimer (@AskDrRuth) July 27, 2012

About Project TILWO — Every day I watch London 2012 Olympic coverage on TV and online then share the lessons I learned, with occasional help from my friends. Edited by Lynn Hess @ Premier Proofing.