Olympic logos on school supplies not getting much love

A Vancouver 2010 plan to sell a wide range of school supplies bearing the logos of the Winter Games and the Olympic mascots is being blasted by teachers and the NDP.

"This is a very dubious way of raising funds to pay for the Olympics," said NDP Olympic critic Harry Bains. "We suspect that the cost will be higher with these logos on than for the generic items and some parents will not be able to afford them.

"That will leave a bad taste for those kids whose parents cannot afford them."

Olympic officials put out a call late last week for an official licensee to make, sell and distribute office and school supplies bearing Olympic logos.
 
They would include rulers, binders, organizers, writing pads, notebooks, pens, pencils, scissors, staplers, pencil sharpeners, erasers, pencil cases, address books and lunch boxes.
 
Bains described using schoolkids to pay for the Olympics' operating costs as a "disturbing new low."
 
"It's one thing if they were to raise funds and put that money back to improve the education of our children," he added, "or if they were to use the money to improve playgrounds and encourage our children to be more active and get some inspiration from the Olympics."
 
Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation, said she's concerned by marketing directed at children.
 
"There's a sense that the Olympics is just another big entity trying to market things to kids," she said. "That's a problem in society and one that the Olympic committee shouldn't buy into. But they do, big time, with all the logos around the Olympics."
 
Lanzinger said the federation would be particularly concerned if the Olympic-branded school supplies were to be pushed through the schools.
 
Vancouver 2010 officials say there's no difference in branding school supplies with the Olympic logos than with any others already on the market.
 
"Our licensing and merchandise program reflects the positive Olympic and Paralympic values," said Caley Denton, 2010's vice-president of ticket sales and consumer marketing. "Our products will feature imagery that represents sport, culture and sustainability, and will be made available in stores in the same way that all other school supplies are, such as items that feature Shrek, Spiderman or Garfield."