The London government is putting its best effort forward in protecting domestic and international sponsors of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games from 'ambush marketing.' A recent report from Reuters reveals the current plan implemented by legislative officials which will punish any persons or companies involved with "publicity seekers who turn their bodies into billboards." The government fears that publicity stunts such as the individual who disrupted a diving event at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, will deter potential sponsors' willingness to invest in the summer games.
This new type of ban will prohibit the advertising of a company on a human body in order to gain attention and free publicity. Olympic Games organizers have tried to crack down on unauthorized use of product placement since the 1996 games in Atlanta when sportswear company Nike created a "Nike Village" with print advertisements located close to the stadiums even though they were not an official sponsor. According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, breaking the rules of this new type of "physical advertising" could result in a fine of up to 20,000 pounds, or approx. $31,570.
While I understand the urgency to preserve the official contributing sponsors' placement rights, I feel that this is a drastic move in censoring Olympic attendees. I think that these rules from legislation are an attempt to control the events happening within the city of London during the games. I do not think that there should be so much discussion on miniscule aspects such as what fans will be wearing. After all, the Olympic games were created with an emphasis on religion and sports, meant to take away from any struggles amongst participating city-states, or countries - let's leave out the politics.
I found this article on Yahoo! News.
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