Mention a major sports event and the words ‘ambush marketing’ won’t be far behind. This year, restrictions pertaining to marketing are expected to be slightly less Draconian.

Rules banning athletes from promoting or advertising anything during the Olympic Games have been amended. They allow participation in advertising which does not link the campaign to the games themselves. Among other guidelines and conditions, the advertising cannot use words such as ‘Olympics’, ‘Rio’ and ‘gold’.

Athletes and the non-Olympic partner brands that sponsor them have been chafing at the IOC’s restrictions regarding promotions, advertising and use of social media. The rules changed in response to this feeling.

The administrators of the games are well-known to be fiercely protective of the Olympic brand. That has led to some piquant and incredulous situations. In 1995, IOC sued Audi, though unsuccessfully, as the car maker’s four-ring logo resembled the five-ring logo of the Games. In 2012, the US Olympics Committee sent a cease-and-desist letter to Ravelry, a knitting-based social network which was to host the third edition of its Ravelympics, a competition that involved an “afghan marathon”, “scarf hockey” and “sweater triathlon”. Knitters were supposed to participate in the competition while watching the Olympics on TV.

According to IOC, such an effort “tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognise or appreciate their hard work.” After an outpouring of outrage, USOC said sorry, adding that it would welcome any handmade items from the knitters that could motivate Amercian athletes at the event.

Here’s a look at some of the cheeky campaigns in the past where brands made use of the Olympics without being official sponsors. Ahead of the Sochi Olympics in 2014, restaurant chain Subway ran an ad starring former Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno and snowboarder Torah Bright. It featured figure skaters, an ice rink and a snowboarder designed to create an association with the Games despite no actual references being made. Rival McDonald’s is an official sponsor.

In 2013, Zippo capitalised on an accident during the Olympic Torch Relay. When wind blew out the torch, a police officer reportedly relit it with a Zippo lighter. The brand posted a picture on its Facebook page and claimed credit, hashtagging it #ZippoSavesOlympics.

The Olympic chiefs said they would sue if the image of the torch was not removed. Zippo then came up with a new strapline: “Zippo: Perfect for all winter games. Wink. Wink.”

Irish bookmaker Paddy Powers ran a poster campaign during the 2012 London Games that got it into trouble with the Olympics committee.

Its posters said “Official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London this year! There you go, we said it.” They then went on to qualify that the sponsorship is of an egg-and-spoon race to be held in the town of London in France. London, UK law firm Charles Russell defended the campaign, and eventually, the campaign continued to run.

Nike too resorted to Londons outside the UK in its own guerrilla marketing endeavours. It ran ads called ‘Find Your Greatness’, featuring sportspeople from towns called London in the US, Norway, Jamaica and Nigeria, and without referring to the Olympic games.

It also scored over adidas, then an official Olympics partner, when several athletes competing at the Games, wore its Volt shoes, which were a bright neon yellow-green. The rules then prevented non-partner brands from marketing themselves or being promoted through their athletes, but did not prevent them from being worn or used during the competitions. This time around, Nike is an official uniform supplier to the IOC.

Compiled by Sravanthi Challapalli

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