Some Advertisers Bask in Olympic Glow Without Becoming Sponsors

The profile is, unmistakably, Eric Heiden. In nothing but a pair of skimpy shorts, the muscle-bound Olympic speed skater flashes the form that won him five gold medals in the 1980 Winter Games.

This photograph of Heiden is the centerpiece of a new print ad for American Express. The advertisement not only reminds readers of Heiden’s Olympic feats eight years ago, but it also brags that Heiden has carried the American Express card since 1980.

Some folks might look at this ad and assume that American Express is an Olympic sponsor. After all, the company is running a similar ad that features Billy Kidd, the first American male to win an Olympic medal in Alpine skiing.

But American Express isn’t spending one nickel to become a “global sponsor” for this year’s Olympics. “We’re not willing to pay $15 million to say that we’re the official card of the Olympics,” said Morris Perlis, executive vice president of American Express’ personal card division. “I’d rather spend that money on advertisements.”

American Express is not alone in this thinking. Alka-Seltzer is suddenly running a commercial with a member of the U.S. ski team praising Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine for its cold relief. But Miles Laboratories, which makes Alka-Seltzer Plus, is not an official Olympic sponsor. And Apple Computer says it plans to spend more money for television advertising during the Winter Olympics than its rival IBM, which is an official sponsor.

What’s going on? Experts call this sort of marketing strategy “ambush” advertising. One company “ambushes” a rival by moving in on the advertising territory that the other thinks it has claimed. To the frustration of Olympics officials, a number of companies are using the technique this year.

Fuji is not a sponsor of this year’s Olympics. But, shortly before the Summer Games begin in South Korea in September, the Japanese film manufacturer plans to release a series of television and print ads that prominently link Fuji with its sponsorship of the U.S. Swim Team. “Obviously, that is a time of year when people focus their attention on Olympic sports,” said Tom Shay, a Fuji spokesman. “We just want the public to know that we are supporting U.S. amateur athletes.”

Apple Computer, for its part, is quick to boast that it has purchased more advertising time during the Winter Olympics than than IBM, which is a sponsor. “We’re not an official sponsor,” said an Apple spokeswoman, “but we see nothing wrong with creating an environment that extends the natural excitement of the games.”

This has some executives hopping mad. Among them are some top officials at the nine firms that are coughing up $13.8 million each to become “global sponsors” for both the Summer and Winter Games. Visa has paid to become the official credit card; Coca-Cola is the official soft drink; Kodak is the official film.

Sponsors like these are essential to the success of the U.S. Olympic teams, says Robert Prazmark. As a vice president at ISL Marketing USA, Prazmark is in charge of selling Olympic sponsorships and is angry about the ambush advertisers.

“All we have to sell is exclusivity. The companies that participate in ambush marketing are indirectly taking food out of the mouths of American athletes,” Prazmark said. “If ambush marketing works, there’s no way we’ll raise the $200 million the athletes need for the 1992 Olympics.”

But some advertising experts say ambush marketing is just clever marketing. And as Olympic sponsorships become more costly--this year they cost $13.8 million each--they say marketing moves like these are to be expected. “The official line is that these sorts of things are un-American, but I don’t see it that way at all,” said Philip Maher, editor of the Westport, Conn., trade publication Sports Marketing News. “Corporate marketers are just trying to find the best ways to sell their products.”

So why not try to shine in the Olympic glow? After all, the Olympics are one of the hottest advertising soapboxes this side of the “Bill Cosby Show.” So hot, in fact, that in a recent survey conducted for the trade magazine Advertising Age, more than 37% of the people who responded said they would be quicker to buy an item advertised by an Olympic sponsor than one that wasn’t. Some even said they felt it was their patriotic duty.

New Shoe on the Block

Ask 10 people what Nike or Reebok make, and nine of them will correctly say athletic shoes. But when that same question was recently asked about a newcomer named Avia, only 30% of those responding associated the name with a running shoe.

Avia is anxious to change that. So anxious, in fact, that the Portland, Ore.-based firm--which is owned by Reebok but operated independently--has unleashed a $7-million ad campaign that makes Avia look something like the official athletic shoe of New York and Los Angeles.

The campaign, created by Ketchum Communications in San Francisco, features shots of New Yorkers and Californians decked in Avias. One ad, for example, cuts from scenes of some Los Angeles Raiders working out in Avias to scenes of some of New York’s Joffrey Ballet dancers also clad in the shoes. In another ad, stark black and white scenes of New Yorkers in Avias are mixed with color shots of Los Angeles residents racing by picturesque palm trees in them.

“We’re amazed at the number of people who have no idea what Avia is, and we figured this could help change that,” said Jim Solomon, marketing vice president at Avia. Although the ads have been test-marketed in several areas, they will break nationally on March 2 during the Grammy Awards. And Ketchum officials are especially anxious that the ads have impact. After all, Avia recently put the account up for review, and Ketchum is now battling three other ad shops for the business.

O&M;’s on a ‘Tear’

Kenneth Roman, named last week as the new chairman of the giant ad conglomerate, Ogilvy Group, gives high marks to the firm’s Ogilvy & Mather office in Los Angeles and its chief, Gerald McGee.

The office recently picked up the $14-million Microsoft Corp. business and is in the running for the Paramount Pictures account and several others, he noted. Roman also recalled that it was his decision four years ago to send McGee to run the Los Angeles office, but added that he is not about to summon McGee to New York. “Jerry loves the coast,” Roman said. “Besides,” he said, “the L.A. office is on such a tear, why would I want to change anything?”