How Nike Brilliantly Ruined Olympic Marketing Forever

Unless you happen to be a company like GE, Coca-Cola or McDonald’s—a brand that can afford the reported $100 million to $200 million it costs to be an official Olympic sponsor—you’d better not mention the Rio games in your marketing. As social-savvy marketers have quickly learned, the U.S. Olympic Committee has ironclad regulations, backed by U.S. trademark law, that restrain nonsponsoring brands from saying anything even vaguely evocative of the Olympics. A casual mention of Rio on Facebook? A congratulatory tweet to a gold medalist? Even tweeting the term “gold medal”? Don’t do it. “There’s a good chance they’ll come after you, especially if you’re using what they consider their intellectual property,” said Jim Andrews, svp at sports and entertainment marketing agency ESP Properties. “Most brands don’t do it because it’s not worth the risk.” The IOC reportedly has a pack of lawyers waiting to pounce on any brand that runs afoul of its rules. But have you ever wondered how those rules got so ridiculously tight? Read more at Adweek.