Locog To Investigate Honda Campaign

London 2012 Olympic organisers have revealed that they intend to investigate Honda’s new digital advertising campaign to decide whether or not it has breached Olympic rules on advertising.

The campaign features four British Olympic athletes, cyclist Ed Clancy, gymnast Beth Tweddle, javelin thrower Goldie Sayers and swimmer Jazmin Carlin, to showcase their talents in the run up to the London 2012 Games.

However, Honda has no official commercial ties with the Games and BMW is the official car sponsor, leading sponsorship experts believe that Honda is trying to tap into the publicity of the Olympic Games for its own benefit.

A spokesperson for Honda argued: ‘We have had a relationship with Ed Clancey for a couple of years. And we have an existing relationship with Beth Tweddle’.

‘The other relationships spawned from these. We have not been hunting out Olympians. This is a long-term campaign’.

According to IOC guidelines, which will be implemented by London organisers as part of an amendment to the Olympic Act 2006, ambush marketing is described as: ‘all intentional and unintentional attempts to create a false or unauthorised commercial association with the Olympic Movements or the Olympic Games is considered ambush marketing’.

‘This includes a non-partner company’s use of creative means to generate a false association with the Olympic games’.

The campaign is currently live, and consumers can follow the athletes through the programmes dedicated microsite www.Honda.co.uk/powerofdreamsteam.