Winter Olimpics "with glowing hearts"

Almost one year ago, I posted a note in which I praised the official mascots of the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics, even mentioning that the "honor of Olympic mascots are restored". Indeed, I still believe that the VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic winter games) did a good job by choosing Quatchi, Miga and Sumi as the mascots for such event.

I also would have liked to praise VANOC for coming up with a cool slogan for the Olympics, but unfortunately, that won't be the case. A press release published in VANOC's website unveils the official slogan for the upcoming winter games: "With glowing hearts".

Don't take me wrong, I do believe that "with glowing hearts" is a nice, warm, and catchy slogan that encompasses well the whole spirit of the Olympics. But here's the questionable part: Where did they come up with that line? Well, please find it in the lyrics of the Canadian National Anthem:

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!

I don't think that utilizing a part of a national anthem for commercial purposes is a good idea, no matter what. National anthems, essentially, are patriotic songs that have to be respected. Turning a portion of a national anthem into a commercial slogan is definitely not the best example of respect for a national symbol. It's just as if they were taking a part of a country's national identity and turning it into a pure marketing tool, just as if "with glowing hearts" could eventually be comparable to, for instance, McDonalds' "I'm lovin' it". That's not alright, but it's just my opinion.

However, regardless of what I think about the slogan, VANOC is going ahead with that. I believe that, for the sake of selling more memorabilia and making more profitable the 2010 Olympics, they could have done than just taking a part of a patriotic symbol. But we'll have to give it a chance. I hope it works well.