CREATIVE SELECTION: Goodyear celebrates Olympic 2000 spirit with themed blimp

<p>Lightship Asia-Pacific scored something of a first with the </p><p>Goodyear "Spirit of the South Pacific" Blimp at the Olympic Stadium in </p><p>Sydney. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At first glance, the signage almost reads as "Goodyear" - in fact, one </p><p>side read "Good luck", the other side reads "G'day". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Myles Kendrick, director of marketing for Lightship Asia-Pacific, </p><p>described it as "a major breakthrough for Olympic branding". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"No brand is allowed over an Olympic venue, yet here we managed to get </p><p>something so close it might as well have been the regular branding," he </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In fact, it's probably better than using the regular Goodyear </p><p>branding." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Goodyear stated that in live televised media value, it generated </p><p>US$5.5 million on NBC in the US and AU$4 million on </p><p>Channel 7 in Australia - that was only during the Olympic period and </p><p>does not include radio and press. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Goodyear Tyre & Rubber was given the green light by the International </p><p>Olympic Committee (IOC) and Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic </p><p>Games (SOCOG) for the stunt, which cleverly circumvented the Olympic </p><p>Games' "clean venue" guidelines prohibiting commercial branding at </p><p>Olympic Games venues. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Michael Payne, director of marketing for the IOC, said: "The </p><p>airship's new identification is an innovative way of communicating a </p><p>uniquely Australian message to athletes and global TV audiences, and one </p><p>that personifies the spirit of friendship and goodwill that the Olympic </p><p>Games represents. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"This is categorically not a breach of the Olympic clean venue </p><p>guidelines, as has been reported in some media." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Goodyear blimp provided aerial TV pictures to accredited local and </p><p>international broadcasters throughout the 17 days of Olympic Games </p><p>competition. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Goodyear Australia's national marketing manager, Mr Kris Matich, said </p><p>Goodyear blimps had been involved in Olympic Games telecasts since the </p><p>1960s, when the birth of aerial camera technology made it possible to </p><p>transmit high-quality video footage from the air for the first time. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He further added that IOC Olympic Games clean venue guidelines prohibit </p><p>any form of corporate branding at, near or above venues, and that during </p><p>previous broadcasts, Goodyear had been required to conceal its unique </p><p>logo on the blimp. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"One of the reasons that Goodyear launched the Spirit of the South </p><p>Pacific in June 1999 was to prepare for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games," </p><p>said Mr Matich. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Rather than merely conceal the Goodyear branding on the blimp, we </p><p>thought a much more creative approach would be to promote a uniquely </p><p>Australian message to the athletes of the Olympic Games and the </p><p>worldwide viewing audience, and one that personifies the spirit of </p><p>friendship and goodwill that the Olympic movement is all about." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Goodyear Tyre & Rubber is the world's largest manufacturer of tyres, and </p><p>this year marks the 75th anniversary of the company's use of airships, </p><p>across four continents throughout the world. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Goodyear blimp also carried a special website address underneath its </p><p>new identification, www.olympics.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As the official website of the Olympic Games, it featured a special </p><p>section called 'Blimp Cam', where Web surfers could, with the click of a </p><p>mouse button, view a range of scenic aerial pictures taken of Australian </p><p>locations from the Goodyear blimp. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Matich said the website branding was closely linked to the blimp's </p><p>role in providing downloadable aerial video footage of all over </p><p>Australia for visitors to the official website of the Games. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Goodyear saw its fundamental role in broadcasting the Games as one of </p><p>promoting Australia as a beautiful place to visit, and our aerial shots </p><p>did just that," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Matich said the combined investment in rebranding the Goodyear blimp, </p><p>and funding the additional crew required for the Olympic Games, exceeded </p><p>AU$500,000, but that it was worth it in view of the global </p><p>audience the Games attracts. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Goodyear's association with the Olympic movement is now a tradition, </p><p>and we're very glad that the Goodyear blimp played such a creative and </p><p>highly visual role at the Games, in a very uniquely Australian way," he </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>