Dozens of major companies and specialty brands that are not official Olympics sponsors have applied to run advertising campaigns featuring athletes ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, taking advantage of new rules that are shaking up the business of marketing surrounding the event.
US multinationals including Mondelez International Inc , General Mills, Under Armour, Adidas AG and Gatorade, a unit of PepsiCo Inc, told Reuters they have applied to the US Olympic Committee (USOC), seeking a waiver that will allow them to compete with official Games sponsors during the Olympics in August and the Paralympics in September.
Others that have applied include Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull, camera maker GoPro Inc, footwear brands Asics Corp, Skechers USA Inc, Brooks Running, swimsuit company Speedo, and Johnson & Johnson for a charitable campaign, the companies told Reuters. The applications underline how the Rio Games are set to herald a radical change for advertisers, even if viewers may not notice much difference as US household names such as two-time gold medallist gymnast Gabby Douglas appear in commercials for everything from banks to cereal.
Thanks to a rule change by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after years of lobbying by athletes, official Olympic sponsors will have to share the big names with brands that have paid nothing to the IOC or a National Olympic Committee such as the USOC.
Companies running these campaigns will have to operate under detailed restrictions aimed at retaining some exclusivity for official sponsors such as Coca-Cola, Visa and McDonald's Corp. Still, the change to the IOC's "Rule 40" could have a big impact on the multi-billion-dollar marketing engine that drives the Games, said Frank Ryan, head of intellectual property at DLA Piper, a law firm that has worked on sponsorship deals with the IOC and the USOC. "If 'Rule 40' isn't policed properly, top sponsors will use it to argue for better pricing for top sponsorship deals," Ryan said. Athletes had long argued that the old rule deprived them of commercial attention and income during their most marketable moments.
Comments
Comments are closed.