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We don't want the London Olympics called the Big Brother Games!

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

June 6, 2012 | 3 min read

It would be stretching it a bit to compare America's Ad Age magazine with the kid who pointed out, to the consternation of the adults all around, "The Emperor has no clothes!"

The London 2012 logo

But he was, of course , right.

The magazine certainly struck a chord from across the Atlantic when it pointed out the seeming conflict between the rights of the ordinary Olympic-supporting punters and the rights of the mega-corporations who have paid a billion to sponsor the games.

The writer asked , "Does it really matter if supporters, applauding 8,000 individuals who have mostly won the right to carry the torch because of their tireless work for the local community, see a makeshift café sign offering an "Olympic breakfast" or an unsanctioned flag?"

No, it doesn't .

The magazine was right and right to make a number of equally trenchant points ( as it was also right to correct and apologise for errors in the piece).

The Drum has been told by LOCOG that Members of the "brand protection team" will be out with the Torch team, looking presumably for infringements along the route to be followed by the carriers of the flame.

It is phraseology like this that sends chills down the spine and supports the Ad Age comment, "This kind of total clampdown might have been expected under the Communist regime during the 2008 games, but London?"

We are reassured that LOCOG says that, while they have an obligation to protect and preserve the exclusive rights to associate with the Games , "we do that in a sensible way.

"Where there is an infringement, our aim is to educate rather than litigate and we will take a firm but pragmatic approach to protect this investment against rogue companies which attempt to use the Games to promote themselves.”

So no arrests of people selling Olympic pies, we hope.

We are sure the euphoria of the London games will in the end sweep all those questions aside. The success will be down to LOCOG's dedication to producing the right end result and balancing appropriately the rights of the people with the rights of the sponsors.

The last thing we want is for them to be known as The Big Brother Games.

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