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"Ambush Marketing"

by Louise Green
8 replies
I don't know if any of you guys have been watching the World Cup, but last week two Dutch women were arrested for ambush marketing.. they were advertising the Bavaria brewing company.

Now the International Olympic Committee said they are taking steps to prevent this tactic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

What's your thoughts on ambush marketing guys?

Is it pure genius or the work of the desperate?
#ambush marketing
  • Profile picture of the author Rensburg
    Its a rough world out there. Big companies are ruthless when it comes to violating advertising agreements. In my honest opinion, I would never have seen the small Bavaria tag if I were sitting between them.

    I think most men were looking at their blonde hair and boobs!
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    • Profile picture of the author Kappadona
      The thing is in South Africa it is actually against the law to use Ambush Marketing which is why these women were taken to court.

      I don't know how that is going to play out in London though.

      To be fair its not really fair to ambush the hard work of another companies organisation. I mean people are paying millions to promote their products during the world cup and you want to ambush the event and promote your product. It's just never gonna be accepted by the companies.

      The only way ambush marketing would be accepted is if it was really creative and funny. Even then it probably wouldn't be accepted.

      The thing is maybe the Bravaria brewing company were just looking for any kind of publicity in which case they have succeeded.
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      • Profile picture of the author rich_henderson
        They actually created that law in South Africa, specifically for the World cup, which shows you how much power the big companies have.

        As for the Bavaria beer company I am sure they were very pleased with the results, if the organizers had just let it go and not arrested the people in the crowd the odds are nobody would have noticed. Wouldn't be surprised if they tipped off the stadium security themselves.

        It happened in the last world cup too where hundreds of Dutch fans actually had to remove lederhosen advertising a company and go into the stadium in their pants, very amusing
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      • Profile picture of the author CliveG
        Originally Posted by Kappadona View Post

        ....

        The only way ambush marketing would be accepted is if it was really creative and funny. Even then it probably wouldn't be accepted.

        ....
        What do you mean by accepted, and accepted by whom?

        There are quite a few marketing methods that I myself certainly do not "accept" but ambush marketing I tend to find amusing and rather effective. Just look at how much TV time they got - and on BBC in the UK - you can't buy that coverage.

        Clive
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  • Profile picture of the author CurtisN
    It isn't pure genius, nor is it desperate. It's simply opportunistic.

    We see a variation of ambush marketing all the time online (legal, of course). Often, when a big product launch happens, we'll see a bunch of people selling stuff afterward that relates to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author bkilela
    Ambush marketing is actually unfair for the company that has paid the loads of money for exclusivity.

    My take on this is that the whole strategy for sponsoring is what creates the madness. What if for instance FIFA would have allowed a number of lets say beer brewers to sponsor and have their brand advertised in a civil way we would never hear about Ambush marketing as we saw recently.

    The problem is that every one is greedy and will not tolerate some sharing of the spoils.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      Originally Posted by bkilela View Post

      Ambush marketing is actually unfair for the company that has paid the loads of money for exclusivity.
      And what's to stop that company from sending people to the games wearing their t-shirts? A bunch of people wearing their shirts is going to mask a handful of people wearing their competitors' t-shirts.

      At any rate, the law seems counter-productive. Because of it, I've now heard of the Bavaria Brewing Company.

      I have no idea who the official sponsor is.
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