The Olympics, Ambush Marketing and Sochi Media

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of ambush marketing and the legal environment surrounding it. With the advent of the Sochi Olympic Games held in February, 2014, ambush marketing again makes its way to the forefront of national and international attention. Certainly, the discussion of ambush marketing in advertising strategies would be a useful tool at any point in a law course that addresses intellectual property such as trademarks and domain names, and consumer protection issues in general. For decades, non-official sponsors of the Olympic Games have found ways to use the Olympic event platform to generate interest in its own product or service. The concept of ambush marketing and the Olympics, however, appears to have emerged from the exposure of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Today, however, one wonders if the IOC’s Rule 40 policy against ambush marketing is really worth the price.