BOCOG issued a written proposal aimed at joint anti-ambush marketing work efforts during a symposium on anti-ambush marketing for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Representatives of the Olympic worldwide partners and the partners and sponsors of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games enthusiastically accepted the proposal.

At the symposium, representatives of the BOCOG marketing and legal affairs departments discussed with those present the anti-ambush marketing work efforts over the course of 2007, including the thought processes and strategy. Representatives from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce also offered suggestions regarding the protection of intellectual property rights.

Next year will be the decisive year of battle for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and brand protection remains a significant task. In the proposal, BOCOG explicitly states the following:

The Olympic worldwide partners and Beijing 2008 Olympic partners and sponsors do not engage in any kind of activity that would promote ambush marketing.
The various industry associations actively develop Olympic brand protection as well as activities and promotional efforts surrounding anti-ambush marketing education
Advertising agencies should increase their understanding of Olympic marketing regulations, respect professional ethics, and not engage in ambush marketing activities.

The problem is the main players — those who will be doing the ambush marketing — were not present.

An example of how it works: At the 200 Olympic Games Qantas took all the credit although the official sponsor airline was Ansett which is no longer with us. Look at the illustration above and wonder whether Qantas was a sponsor. It was not.

Already Acer is hammering out press releases about it being an Olympic Sponsor. Not of Beijing but of the London Olympics and other that lie ahead.

If Lenovo is not careful then Acer will appear to be a sponsor of the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing which will not, from the point of view of Lenovo, be a good thing.

Ambush marketing is easy to spot, difficult to define, damn near impossible to stop. There is an excellent article by Jeremy Curthoys and Christopher N. Kendallon how it was used in the Australian Olympics in Ambush Marketing and the Sydney Games. It was from this article our illustration of Cathy Freeman apparently running for Qantas, which was not an Olympics sponsor, is taken.
Source: Beijing 2008