CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE UNVEILS NEW OLYMPIC BRAND IDENTITY

Simple, Classic, Iconic Maple Leaf Anchors New Canadian Olympic Team Mark

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TORONTO, June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) today unveiled a series of new marks for all of its competition wear and merchandise, designed to inspire Canadians' national pride for their elite athletes.

"We are very pleased with the new brand logo. It is simple, clean and drives attention to the Team, where it belongs," said Christopher Overholt, Canadian Olympic Committee Chief Operating and Chief Marketing Officer. "The maple leaf is what connects all Canadians. We hope Canadians see this new logo as a badge of honour and another way to show support for the Team."

The link between the Canadian Olympic Team and Canadians was forged at the 1908 Games, when athletes debuted uniforms displaying the red maple leaf. Since then, the Team and its uniforms have gone on to inspire national pride for more than a century.

"I really love it! It's a throwback to a simpler era, it's focused and direct" said three-time Olympic kayak medallist Adam van Koeverden. "I'm proud more than ever to be racing with the maple leaf on my chest."

The key elements to the brand identity are:

The Canadian Olympic Team Mark
The new designs include a distinctive Canadian Olympic Team mark, with the maple leaf as its centerpiece, sitting above the Olympic rings encircled by a red oval border. The result is a classic yet contemporary look. The non-verbal mark will appear on competition wear at the Olympic Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee Mark
The updated mark of Canada's National Olympic Committee, is a modified version of the original mark created in 1995. The gradient in the flame has been removed to help improve consistency when replicating the mark and the typography has been updated to match the new design direction.

Youth Olympic Team and Pan American Team
The new mark will now be specific to each edition of the respective Games.  The marks will take effect for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games and the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

The Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame
The new mark honours the amazing athletes and contributors who have entered since 1949. It showcases the top Canadian Olympic athletes, teams, coaches, officials, administrators, and volunteers.

The Mosaic Maple Leaf Graphic
The COC created the mosaic maple leaf graphic drawing inspiration from both Canada's and the Team's diversity. It is based on the geometry of the most renowned Canadian icon, the maple leaf. The tones are based on the five colours of the Olympic rings and from Canadian landscapes, representing Canada's cultural mosaic.

"These new logos represent every Olympian who competed for Canada and every athlete who aspires to make the Olympic Team," said the Olympic bronze medallist and COC Athletes' Commission Chair, Deidra Dionne. "It connects us with Canadians from every corner of the country and is symbolic of who we are as a Team."

"The Canadian Olympic Team brand is for everybody. It is for our Olympians. It is for 33 million Canadians. Together, we are one Team," said Dennis Kim, COC Executive Director, Brand Marketing.

Images and video of the new brand, produced in collaboration with Vancouver-based designer/director Ben Hulse and designers Greg Durrell, Adam Bognar, Andrew Simpson, can be viewed here: http://brand.olympic.ca.

The new brand will be phased in over the coming months and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

About the Canadian Olympic Committee
The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada's involvement in the Olympic Movement, including Canada's participation in the Olympic, Youth Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For news and information, visit the COC website at www.olympic.ca and find the team on both Facebook (Canadian Olympic Team) and Twitter (@CDNOlympicTeam).

/NOTE TO EDITORS: Media Assets accompanying this story are available as follows:

Photo:  http://smr.newswire.ca/media/articles/1355/teamcanadalogo.jpg
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Video: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/mmnr/smr/BrandLaunchEN.flv

SOURCE COC