Under new government proposals, brands have been warned that they could be “criminalised” for launching London 2012 related marketing if they are not official sponsors.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has warned that the new rules, currently under consultation by the DCMS, could prevent brands that are not official sponsors from reflecting any association to the London 2012 Olympics in their advertising.
CIM’s chief executive Roderick Wilkes says new legislation could see brands that are not official advertisers missing out on the “greatest show on earth”.
He adds, “the Games and their sponsors need to be protected, but there is a grey area about the rights of all other organizations – and individuals – that are not sponsors. In the worst case, those trying to associate business activity to the London events could face a criminal charge which we find wholly unacceptable”.
The CIM reportedly advises that marketers can still use non-specific associations with health, fitness and athleticism that will not infringe on the Olympics Act, but warns that there is still a huge “grey area” when it comes to defining ambush marketing.
Words such as “gold” or “silver” can’t be used in combination with words such as “London”, or “2012”, even if the word “Olympics” is omitted.
The CIM says it hopes the Olympic Act will only be enforced when there is “clear intent to ambush which attempts to mislead the customer” in order to prevent businesses being unduly fined.
