What is ambush marketing and what harm does it create?
Only official sponsors, licensees and government partners of the Olympic/Paralympic Movement in Canada are allowed to suggest an affiliation or connection with the Olympic/Paralympic Movement or any Olympic/Paralympic Games. Unfortunately, those exclusive rights can be infringed by “ambush marketing” – marketing that capitalizes on the goodwill of the Olympic/Paralympic Movement by creating a false, unauthorized association with the Olympic/Paralympic Movement, Olympic/Paralympic Games or Olympic/Paralympic athletes without making the financial investment required to secure official sponsorship rights. Ambush marketing can be intentional – a tactic used by unscrupulous businesses to exploit the goodwill of the Olympic/Paralympic Brand – or inadvertent. Either way, ambush marketing is unfair because ambush marketing allows the ambush marketer to benefit from an association with the Olympic/Paralympic Brand without providing any financial support for the 2010 Winter Games or Canadian Oly
