Marketing the Games

The Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Stockholm 1912 was something of a pioneer in terms of its approach to marketing the Games, hoping to leverage them to promote Sweden’s incipient tourism industry. To pursue this aim, it formed an Advertising and Information Committee (AIC) to oversee the production, distribution and monitoring of all advertising and communication material relating to the Games of the V Olympiad. The AIC set up offices in major European cities and subscribed to newspapers in 16 countries, all with a view to following what the international media had to say about the Games.

Now a staple of the Olympic Games, an official poster was also created to help generate public interest and was translated into 16 languages. A total of 88,350 large-format copies of the Stockholm 1912 poster were distributed across Europe and found their way into some 2,200 hotels in 636 towns in 30 countries. In addition, nearly five million copies of the poster in postage-stamp format were printed to meet demand.

The original version of the poster generated some controversy. It depicted nude male athletes twirling flags in the parade of nations, their lack of attire a nod to the ancient Games. Deemed too daring by some and immoral by others, it was not distributed in some countries. In response to the critics, the poster’s creator covered the athletes’ genitalia.

An official Olympic Games programme was also created. Some 193,000 copies were printed and sent out to sports organisations, newspapers, Swedish embassies and consulates, and travel agencies.