Ambush Marketing - a Global Analysis

Sponsorship of major events, particularly sporting events, is big business worldwide. As more money is spent on the event, broadcasting rights, and infra structure, so the cost of sponsorship rises. Inevitably this means official sponsors require protec‐ tion against what is known as “ambush marketing”; the exploitation of the event by non‐sponsors.

So whether your brands, or clients’ brands, are official sponsors of a major event, an individual or team, or not a sponsor at all, the ‘arena’ of regulation is important.

This paper looks at the legal and regulatory position in a number of jurisdictions around the world and sets out what it all really means for brands in practice. First however we consider what is meant by ambush marketing and debate whether the balance between protecting event holders and official sponsors and allowing free‐ dom of commercial expression has been tipped too far in favour of the former, with views from an advertiser and event holder.