MAM
Saatchi to create campaign for 2004 summer Olympic Games
NEW YORK: Saatchi and Saatchi has won the mandate of creating a new global branding campaign for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
An Adage report says that Saatchi will create campaigns promoting the 2004 Summer Games (Athens) and 2006 Winter Games. The campaign will be largely made up of public service announcements and placements with the IOC’s media partners. However, there is no billing figure attached to the account as yet.
The global promotional campaign will keep the title “Celebrate Humanity” which was created by TBWA/Chiat/Day in 2000. The objective of the campaign is to emphasise the values of the Olympic movement, which include “friendship, fair play and inspiration.”
The report also adds that Publicis Groupe agency beat Omnicom Group’s TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York, the incumbent; WPP Group’s Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, London; and El Segundo, Calif.-based independent Siltanen/Keehn.
Digital
Galgotias apologises after AI summit robot sparks backlash, blames ‘ill-informed’ representative
University says no intent to misrepresent innovation
NEW DELHI: Galgotias University has issued a formal apology after a controversy over a robotic dog displayed at the India AI Impact Summit led to scrutiny, backlash and the university’s exit from the venue.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the university said it “apologises profusely for the confusion created” at the summit, attributing the episode to an “ill-informed” representative manning its pavilion. The individual, it said, was unaware of the product’s technical origins and was not authorised to speak to the media.
The controversy erupted after online users identified the robotic dog as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available model made by Unitree Robotics, contradicting claims made during the event about its development.
Galgotias said there was “no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation” and reiterated its commitment to academic integrity and transparency. It added that it had vacated the stall in line with organisers’ sentiments.
Events at the summit venue, Bharat Mandapam, took a dramatic turn as electricity to the Galgotias pavilion was cut, followed by barricades being installed around the stall. A video circulated by PTI showed workers at the site saying they were acting on instructions from their supervisor.
Summit organisers have yet to issue a detailed public explanation outlining the sequence of decisions that led to the stall’s shutdown, even as the incident fuels wider debate around claims, verification and accountability at high-profile technology showcases.
