Rio 2016 may be the summer Olympics, but the Canadian Olympic Committee is channeling winter with its slogan for the Games “Ice in our Veins.”
Wednesday marked the 100-day mark until the Rio 2016 Olympics, and to celebrate, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) launched its new slogan and ad campaign.
Similar to the slogan used for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, #WeareWinter, the COC is once again embracing the cold, going with “Ice in our Veins” as the slogan.
Images for the ad campaign feature some of Canada’s most promising summer athletes posing in the snow on the shores of Georgian Bay — a few hours north of Toronto — reaffirming the stereotype that it is always winter in Canada.
"“Our Olympians taking on the world for Rio 2016 aren’t summer athletes, they are Canadian athletes,” says Derek Kent, chief marketing officer of the COC. “Winter is in our blood and is part of our DNA.” via The National Post."
It would make sense that the COC would want to invoke the spirit of winter in Rio, as Canada does much better at the Winter Olympics than at the Summer Games. In 2014, Canada finished fourth overall with 25 medals, and third in gold medals with 10. In London, Canada won just 18 medals and only a single gold.
The goal for Rio is to pass that medal total and finish in the top 12, and Team Canada has some emerging talents that should help with that. The COC should be highlighting the growing strength of summer athletes, not be keeping them in the shadow of their winter counterparts.
Yes, winter is a large part of life in Canada, and it does impact training in summer sports, but there is still warm weather. For the Summer Olympics, Canada should be trying to move away from the winter stereotype, not running full steam toward it.
For more coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympics, please visit our hub page.