Over the next year, you are going to hear a lot about so-called "ambush marketing", "protection of trademarks", and related issues. The IOC is to the point of being obsessive about protecting their advertising dollars, especially for the so-called "top tier" sponsors (such as Coke.)
You've probably heard about the butcher that had a display of sausages in the shape of the Olympic rings. Faster than you can say gold-in-the-100-meters-goes-to, the IOC swooped down and demanded gramps take the display down. His excuse was to show support for the US bid in 2016. Not kosher, said the IOC, and threatened a lawsuit if he didn't comply.
I recall during 1996, there was a famous case here. A local restaurant had a huge billboard near Dobbins AFB that advertised "gold, silver and bronze" lunch specials. No mention of the Olympics or any Olympic-related marks whatsoever. You can guess the rest---down it came, several days later.
I think the most outrageous thing I have heard was the harassment of a local liquor store in Atlanta. I used to live in the neighborhood and the Olympic Package Store in the Brookhaven area had operated for years with no problem. Nary a word was said about the name of the business. But when officials were surveying the route of the men's and women's marathon, (that route directly passed the liquor store), the IOC went nuts.
I'd think it's safe to say the customers of Olympic Package wern't thinking of the Games when they went in on Friday's after work to get their supplies for the weekend. The store had been in the community for as long as I have been in Atlanta, (and that's a long time.) But they were forced to change their sign so it read Olympik to avoid a potential lawsuit from the IOC.
But the grandaddy of them all was in 1992 with Michael Jordan. Remember the Dream Team? And the huge billboard in downtown Barcelona that everyone loved? Everyone that is except the IOC.
At the time Nike was one of Jordan's sponsors. Big problem---it wasn't an IOC sponsor and said to him that if he won any medal, he was going to have to cover up his logos. Biiiggg mistake. Really big mistake. You don't tell the biggest sports star in the world what to do.
Fine, MJ said...I will just tell a few of my fellow teammates and I think it would be no problem at all if we just stayed home. As the whole focus of the Games that year and the big ad push here in the States was around the Dream Team and the possible gold they were bringing home, the IOC found out it bit off more than they could chew with Big Mike and backed down.
I am not denying that the sponsors that have paid lots of money have interests to protect. But in this area, I think the IOC needs to be more careful in how it chooses it's battles. Going after the corner liquor store versus someone producing unauthorised merchandise with the Olympic rings---it's a no-brainer as to who is the bigger threat. It got so bad in Atlanta that spectators were being denied entrance to events and/or given masking tape to cover up logos on what they were wearing.
The IOC needs to be more sensible and pick it's issues carefully. Too much money and time is being wasted on petty stuff and in the meantime, the big ones are getting away. But going after the local mom-and-pop retail joint only creates more distrust, and besides, it doesn't do the image of the IOC any good, in fact, in the case of the sausage man, it made them look downright petty.
And if the IOC was more careful, that's an opportunity for them---paved in gold.
