There are dozens of Olympic sports. Watching Sochi I could tell that each and
every sport was unique, and had its own following of viewers. But out of all of
these sports, curling was the one to watch.
Whenever the Olympics were mentioned between friends, or in class, curling
was the always the sport mentioned. The impact of the “slide stones” on each
other and the inevitable sweeping that occurs bring emotions of pure excitement. But What? Is some force overshadowing this wonderful
game? Every two years, (winter and
summer) the Olympics take over the media.
Whether it’s on your TV, on your computer, or on your iPhone, news of
this event is everywhere. The early
Olympics began as an event of competition and entertainment. The original purpose of these games was to
bring together the athletes of the world and have them compete. That purpose has been skewed over recent
years. Making money has taken precedents. From the years 2002-2014 the viewership of
the Olympics has been in the billions.
Each singular Olympics brings 110 million and up of admirers. With this
many people watching, Advertisement Companies have found the perfect hunting
ground to spread their products.
The main competition has always been
between the athletes, but that seems to have changed. What has gotten in
between these athletes and their events you may ask? Advertising. Advertising is involved in literally every aspect
of the Olympics. Whether it is skin
tight suits by Underarmour used in speed skating, or team sponsorships in
figure skating by Visa, the goal is to get word of the product out to the
audience. Brands battle for our
attention. Our personal pleasure is ignored and told to
burn in hell. Our entertainment is told
screw you and die in a hole. The
Olympics has given up on pleasing people.
Let’s face the truth. This proud
event needs to rely on advertising. The
world runs on money, there’s no changing that.
Advertising is a needed commodity in the world and there is no
sugar-coating that. As much as we may
hate it, we have to love it.
The Olympics should be enjoyed for the
athleticism and human feats they showcase, not for the advertising. This ignoring of people’s God given right to
be entertained can only last for so long.
Things will soon change. The
Olympics viewership will go down. More
and more people will just record the Olympics.
Watch the program at a later time fast forwarding through the commercials. The constant annoyance of brand after brand
will cease to exist. Advertisements may
be needed in this world, but people can’t be forced to deal with them.
Nathan, my interest was piqued by your introduction. Unfortunately, I do not think it worked. The sport of curling does not help you advance your argument, because, as you imply (ironically I think), no one watches that sport. If you had written the advertising compromises the purity of more popular sports, then the logic would line up. If you had written that advertising channels our attention away from curling and towards more popular sports, that would have made sense. Honestly, I have no idea what you were trying to accomplish with curling.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this post is fairly well written. You are a technically sound writer. I don't think hyperbolic statements like "Our personal pleasure is ignored and told to burn in hell. Our entertainment is told screw you and die in a hole" are particularly effective. I think they indicate less-than-professional writing. However, I respect the attempt. In order to be effective, claims must have some semblance of reality. No one is being told to "burn in hell."
My biggest problem with this post is that it does not answer the prompt. The prompt explicitly asked that you quantify the presence of advertising. This post only offers a litany of personal, unsubstantiated observations. As a result, it lacks credibility.