Ambush marketing

Ambush marketing is a marketing campaign that takes place around an event but does not involve payment of a sponsorship fee to the event.¹ For most events of any significance, one brand will pay to become the exclusive and official sponsor of the event in a particular category or categories, and this exclusivity creates a problem for one or more other brands. Those other brands then find ways to promote themselves in connection with the same event, without paying the sponsorship fee and without breaking any laws.

1 Notable events
2 Future of ambush marketing
3 Bibliography
4 References

Notable events

This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the article; suggestions may be found on the talk page. (February 2009)

1984 Olympics; Kodak sponsors TV broadcasts of the Games as well as the US track team despite Fujifilm being the official sponsor.
1988 Summer Olympics; Fujifilm sponsors the Games^{clarification needed} despite Kodak being the official sponsor.
1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona; Nike sponsors press conferences with the US basketball team despite Reebok being the official sponsor. During ceremonies, the players covered their Reebok logos.
1994 Winter Olympics; American Express sponsors the Games^{clarification needed} despite Visa being the official sponsor.
1996 Atlanta Olympics; sprinter Linford Christie wore contact lenses embossed with the Puma logo at the press conference preceding the 100 metres final, despite Reebok being the official sponsor.
1996 Atlanta Olympics; Messages On Hold strategically placed a banner within the camera frame as US runner Jon Drummond prepares for the opening leg of 4x100 relay final. The moment is broadcast live across the world.
1996 Cricket World Cup; Pepsi ran a series of advertisements titled "nothing official about it" targeting the official sponsor Coca Cola.
1998 FIFA World Cup; Nike sponsored a number of teams competing in the Cup despite Adidas being the official sponsor.
2000 Sydney Olympics; Qantas Airlines’ slogan "The Spirit of Australia" sounds strikingly similar to the Games’ slogan "Share the Spirit." despite Ansett Air being the official sponsor.
2003 Cricket World Cup; Indian players threatened to strike over concerns that the anti-ambush marketing rules were too strict. Of particular concern was the length of time before and after the cup that players were not allowed to endorse a rival to one of the official sponsors. Players argued that if they had pre-existing contracts that they would be in breach of them if they were to accept the ICC's rules.
2006 FIFA World Cup; fans of the Netherlands were made to remove Bavaria Brewery's leeuwenhosen because Budweiser was the official beer sponsor. See also the 2010 FIFA World Cup for a similar incident involving the same two brands.
2008 Beijing Olympics; entire countries were tuned into the Opening Ceremonies, and worldwide, millions more saw former Olympic gymnast Li Ning light the torch and learned that he owns a shoe company with the same name, a direct rival of Adidas and quite famous in China, but not an official Olympic sponsor.²
2010 Super Bowl XLIV; Canadian gay dating site ManCrunch was accused of ambush marketing when it submitted a controversial advertisement to CBS for air during the game. The theory is that ManCrunch produced the ad knowing that it would never be accepted and hoped the controversy would drum up the intended attention without having to pay the nearly US$3,000,000 price for an advertisement during the game.³
2010 Winter Olympics; Team USA ice hockey goaltender Ryan Miller was ordered to remove the catchphrase "Miller Time" from his helmet under the IOC's ambush marketing rules, due to it also being the slogan of Miller Lite beer (though Miller Lite did not pay for the slogan).⁴ Likewise, the U.S. bobsled team was forced to remove their catchphrase, "Night Train," due to it being the name of a low-end fortified wine (again, the usage of the phrase was coincidental).⁵
2010 FIFA World Cup;
- A South African budget airline Kulula pulled back its ambush ad after a FIFA complaint that it infringed its trademark during the 2010 World Cup. Kulula.com's ad described the firm as the "Unofficial National Carrier of the You-Know-What". It also had pictures of stadiums, vuvuzelas and national flags. But FIFA said the airline could not use the symbols - even the word "South Africa", kulula.com's spokeswoman said. FIFA, however, said the images taken together were "ambush marketing".⁶ However, Kulula followed this up with further advertising more obliquely linking itself with the World Cup, making action by FIFA more difficult.
- Also during the tournament, in an incident similar to the 2006 World Cup, 2 Dutch women were arrested for ambush advertising and 36 women ejected from the stadium when they were spotted wearing short orange dresses made by the Dutch brewery Bavaria on 14th June 2010. Like the 2006 tournament, Anheuser–Busch InBev's Budweiser is the official beer of the event. ⁷. The association between the dresses and the Dutch brewery had been established by Sylvie van der Vaart modelling one of them.⁸ ITV media pundit Robbie Earle was fired from his role when it was claimed by FIFA that he had sold tickets meant for family and friends on to the Dutch beer company.⁹¹⁰

Future of ambush marketing

For the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2015 Cricket World Cup, New Zealand is planning to enact laws to combat ambush marketing, according to former Sports Minister Trevor Mallard.¹¹

The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 contains provisions to attempt to restrict ambush advertising at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Bibliography

Skildum-Reid, Kim. The Ambush Marketing Toolkit, McGraw-Hill, September 2007. ISBN 0070138087.

References

^ Ambush marketing laws planned for rugby, cricket World Cups - Sports - International Herald Tribune
^ The Greatest Free Ad Ever
^ http://www.fancast.com/blogs/2010/tv-news/cbs-rejects-gay-themed-super-bowl-ad/
^ Benigni, Adam (2010-02-16).Ryan Miller's Mask Causes Olympic Controversy. WGRZ.
^ http://www.wgrz.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=74554&catid=4
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8576220.stm
^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/16/fifa-world-cup-ambush-marketing
^ Kelly, Jon (17 June 2010). "How ambush marketing ambushed sport". BBC News Magazine. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8743881.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
^ http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/World-Cup-2010-Robbie-Earle-Sacked-By-ITV-Over-Holland-v-Denmark-Ticket-Claims/Article/201006315649566?lpos=UK_News_First_Buisness_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15649566_World_Cup_2010%3A_Robbie_Earle_Sacked_By_ITV_Over_Holland_v_Denmark_Ticket_Claims
^ "Robbie Earle sacked over World Cup tickets". BBC News. 16 June 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10322048.stm. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/06/sports/AS_SPT_New_Zealand_Ambush_Marketing.php

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