Crackdown on Olympic advertising

By Chen Qian  |   2008-7-2  |     ONLINE EDITION

ADVERTISEMENTS featuring Olympic athletes promoting the products of non-Olympic sponsors will not be allowed to appear in Chinese media from August 1 to 27, the China Advertising Association said in a notice yesterday, Beijing Evening News reported today.

The publishing ban will target advertisements of non-Olympic sponsors if athletes, coaches, or officials involved in the Beijing Games appear in their commercials, the notice said.

The association said such ads are regarded as "invisible" copyright infringements on the Games.

The report said there are many brands asking Olympic athletes to be their ambassadors in their advertising. Nike has invited the diver Hu Jia and Amway and Cadillac have asked Liu Xiang, who won 110m hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, to be ambassadors.

Other athletes, including the diver queen Guo Jingjing, walkers Li Gaobo and Song Hongjuan and fencers Tan Xue, Wang Lei and Zhang Liangliang, appear in commercials of non Olympic games sponsors. As well as individual athletes, some teams including the national sailing team, the women's tennis team, and the national table tennis team are also found in commercials.

Amway said today that it will withdraw all such advertisements from tomorrow in response to the notice. Because the crackdown on "invisible" copyright infringements started early this year, many companies have been prepared and will not be affected greatly, the report said.

The association also pointed out that phrases such as "2008" "Beijing" and "torch" appearing in advertisements can also constitute "invisible" infringements.

Li Fangwu, assistant to secretary general of the association, said many businesses have tried all sorts of ways to link their products with the Olympic Games. The association welcomes public tip-offs about advertisements that might infringe the Olympic rules.