Officials Try Controlling Olympic Brand

Official sponsors of the 2012 Olympics reportedly spent billions of dollars to associate their brands and products with the London Games dollars that the sponsors said they hoped will yield a high return for their significant investment and dollars that are absolutely crucial to the huge task of staging the Games. About 40 percent Olympic revenues come from commercial sponsorship. As a result, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its related entities endeavor to protect the investments of their commercial partners, sponsors and supporters through restrictions, limitations and sanctions aimed at preventing the marketing efforts of "unofficial" advertisers.

Ambush marketing defined by "The Olympic Marks and Imagery Usage Handbook" as "a planned attempt by a third party to associate itself directly or indirectly with the Olympic Games to gain the recognition and benefits associated with being an Olympic Marketing Partner" is prohibited. The IOC has