The British government has bowed to pressure from the advertising industry and said it will water down its proposed controls on advertising during the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. But advertisers who have not yet seen the proposed amendments are still concerned that the final legislation will stifle business during the Games, reports the Guardian.
Host cities are required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prevent “ambush marketing” – advertisers who try to associate themselves with the Olympics without paying to become an official sponsor.
The controls are to protect multi-million dollar investments made by multinational companies for the right to use the Olympic trademark and symbols, but advertisers claim it is a far too draconian interpretation of the IOC requirements. The London Olympics bill in its current form bans advertisers from using the words gold, silver, bronze, London or summer in conjunction with games of 2012.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has refused to discuss how the bill is to be amended. A spokesman for the DCMS said, if the government does table amendments to the bill, the detail will be revealed when the bill returns to the House of Commons”. The bill goes into the committee stage when parliament resumes October 10.
