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Rules for Olympics relaxed
27th September 2005, 09:57
The government has bowed to pressure from the advertising industry and signalled it will water down its proposed controls on advertising during the 2012 Olympics. But advertisers, who have yet to see the proposed amendments, remain concerned that the final legislation will stifle business during the games.
The International Olympic Committee legally requires host cities to prevent "ambush marketing" - advertisers trying to associate themselves with the Olympics without paying to be an official sponsor. This is to protect the multimillion dollar investments made by multinationals including Coca-Cola, Samsung, McDonald's and Visa, for the right to use the Olympic trademark and symbols. But advertisers are annoyed about the legislation drafted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, claiming 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 or 2012.
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