by GWEB-member, LiVeLoVeLaUgH!

The Beijing 2008 Olympics are going to start in less than a month. Naturally, things are starting to get busy and athletes are working hard to perfect themselves for this big event. However, I’m sure all of you knew about the event from months ago – especially when the torch relay began and people all over the world organized protests for Tibet.

Although Tibet deserves the attention it has been receiving, I also want to bring up an issue that has been neglected: advertisements. In this case I want to focus on commercials. Just like with any other major event, commercials have been made for the Olympics. Since I live in Hong Kong and the equestrian games are going to be held right here, I have been exposed to Olympic advertisements in my daily life over the past months.

One commercial that was being broadcast for a while here on a local TV channel attracted me, but not in a positive way. In fact, it bothered me and it still bothers me today. In this specific commercial, young girls and boys said things such as, “I’m not a nerd”, “I’m not easy”, “I’m not lazy”, “I’m not four-eyed”, “I’m not a social misfit”, and “I’m not a failure” in their own language. Then, afterwards they said “I am an athlete” while doing various sports.

Now you must be thinking, “Yeah… your point is…?”.

Well, here is what annoyed me the most: at the very end, the words in the commercial said, “It makes you invincible” and “The best of us” (followed by the Olympics logo).
In other words, I felt like the commercial was saying that if you’re an athlete, you’re successful. I agree with this – athletes are successful people because they are determined, focused, and passionate. They set personal goals and work everyday to achieve them. But I also felt that the commercial was saying that if you’re NOT an athlete, you’re basically a failure and you are an easy, four-eyed nerd. This is definitely not true. In addition, I think they were being stereotypical by making athletes the “cool” ones. Unfortunately, it’s a very common stereotype that media has promoted over the years.
It’s also a stereotype that I truly abhor.

Who’s to say that you have to be the best basketball player in school to be a great person? And who knows, maybe the girl who always gets A’s in your biology class is actually a fantastic soccer player! Maybe she’s just never had a chance to reveal that because people are always busy labeling her a “nerd”. And even if she isn’t a great soccer player, does that mean she’s not successful? I don’t think she would be getting A’s if she really was a failure. Wouldn’t you agree?

All of us are successful in our own ways. Take J.K. Rowling for instance. Her Harry Potter books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Is she an athlete? No, she’s a writer. And what about Oprah Winfrey? Or Mother Theresa?

Basically, we are all athletes, but not literally. Some people are great swimmers and tennis players. On the other hand, for some other people, the “sport” they are talented in might be dancing, knitting, acting, cooking, math, or something else. To each his own – we all have our own hobbies and when we feel passionate about something, we dedicate our time to improving our skills. So in a way, we’re all athletes. Sadly, the commercial didn’t include this point of view.

I bet the people who created the commercial I saw made it the way it is because they thought that incorporating stereotypes would work. Maybe it did for some people, but for people like me, it didn’t. It really disappoints me that stereotypes are even included in advertisements for the Olympics. The Olympics is a major event that brings people together peacefully, so I wish people put more thought into the commercial I saw. After all, the Olympics only come around once in every four years.