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The Olympics, Trademarks and Ambush Marketing

Foto del escritor: EMPSEMPS

The 2024 Summer Olympics will open in a few days in Paris. In addition to a great celebration of sport, this event is a unique opportunity for all types of brands to promote themselves globally. One of the main sources of income for the games is actually derived from the advertising of their numerous official sponsors.


The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the head of its organization, is the jealous owner of numerous trademarks related to the games that it vigorously defends. In addition to the name of the event itself, it also has trademark rights to its symbols, such as the Olympic rings, the Olympic torch and the various slogans (this year it is "Games Wide Open") and even the name of the cities with the corresponding date ("Paris 2024). The ultimate goal of this solid portfolio is to prevent third parties from taking advantage of the fame of the games without prior authorization (and payment) to the IOC.


In addition, organizing cities often approve ad-hoc regulations to avoid so-called "ambush marketing", a practice of trying to take advantage of the popularity of an event by advertising without being an official sponsor. Some examples of this would be using Olympic athletes as ambassadors, using terminology or an aesthetic that refers to the event, or even trying to "sneak" into official broadcasts using tricks.


A famous example is what happened at Euro 2012, when player Nicklas Bendtner showed his underwear branded by the Paddy Power betting house after scoring a goal. The player was fined 100,000 euro, an amount finally paid by the bookmaker.



In the recent Euro this year we have also witnessed several of these practices. For example, the smartwatch brand Whoop of which Cristiano Ronaldo is a user published a graph on his social media with the player's pulse during the match with Slovenia. Another case has been MacDonalds, which offered a "fan menu" with aesthetics and graphics inspired by different countries coinciding with the matches.


Despite the ingenuity of all these initiatives, it is important to know that they are not legal and can result in heavy sanctions. And, if these great sporting events are possible, it is precisely because there are official sponsors who pay the bill.




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