Sunday, January 31, 2010

Torch Relays

I know that we are still a few weeks away from the Olympics, but I had a pretty interesting Olympic experience yesterday. My girlfriend and I went to RBC to set up a new bank account. RBC of course is an official sponsor of the Olympics, so the lobby was littered with Olympic posters and not so catchy adverstising slogans. After sitting in the lobby for half an hour, we finally entered the manager's office and sat down. He proceeded to tell us all about the boxes behind his desk. These in fact were even more decorations to prepare for the torch relay that would proceed through Newport Village. He then, unsolicitated, explained the torch relay situation, including the route, time, and how many people were expected to attend. After this long introduction, he asked us, so are you excited about the Olympics? My girlfriend and I gave our stock answer of "yes." After all how can you say no to a guy that is so excited about the Olympics. He asked us what our favorite events are and what aspects we like about the games. I blurted out that I like the skiing, which I do, and my girlfriend muttered approval of my answer. But in truth, my girlfriend is Australian, hates the snow, and has not once even watched the Winter Olympics. They just aren't important to her and from her perspective, aren't remotely important to most Australians. Now, I like watching some of the games, but all the recent advertising and media hype has really put me off this year. So, no, we are not excited, but seem to perform the role of Vancouver resident, absolutely excited. And this left me wondering, as the bank manager of a huge Olympic sponsor, can this man possibly dislike the Olympics? Is he just performing the role of Olympic sponsor employee? Can he even give his own opinion about the Olympics, or is he contractually obligated to be excited?

1 comment:

  1. The real test is whether the bank manager you spoke to had a Blackberry or a Samsung smart phone. If the latter, then he's been sold his soul full scale, as Samsung is an official sponsor, and apparently their poorer model phones are trumping all others.

    Peter

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