With the FIFA World Cup taking place in North America and the Commonwealth Games headed for Glasgow, Scotland, 2026 promises to be a year of sporting action. Kicking off the year will be the XXV Winter Olympic Games in northern Italy in February. International events such as these present opportunities not just for athletes and teams but also for businesses. Indeed, the Olympic Partner (TOP) program is the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, with current members being AB InBev, Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Omega, P&G, Samsung, TCL, and Visa. For many years, businesses that are not official sponsors have used advertising and public relations stunts to promote their brands on the back of global sports events, a practice that has become known as ambush marketing. Over the past 30 years in particular, these actions have grown as marketers have come up with innovative, witty, daring, and sometimes subversive ideas. In response, organizers and host governments have fought back with new rules and legislation to protect the interest of official sponsors, athletes, and fans.
In this article, Lucia Granieri explores the growing threat of ambush marketing at global sporting events and the challenges and potential damage it presents to event organizers, rights holders, and the unsuspecting public.
This article was first published in The Trademark Laywer.
