{"id":171,"date":"2010-07-27T14:01:19","date_gmt":"2010-07-27T18:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amsterdamprinting.com\/?p=171"},"modified":"2026-04-29T12:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T16:38:34","slug":"what-is-ambush-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amsterdamprinting.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/27\/what-is-ambush-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Companies Launch Ambush Marketing Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated 4\/28\/2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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Ambush marketing is a controversial strategy where brands associate themselves with major events without paying official sponsorship fees. Often seen at global sporting events, this tactic exploits consumer perception to gain massive visibility at a fraction of the cost. From Kodak versus Fuji to Nike\u2019s high\u2011profile Olympic stunts, ambush marketing has produced some of the most memorable\u2014and debated\u2014campaigns in advertising history. This article explores famous examples of ambush marketing, why the strategy works, and what businesses can learn from these bold moves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have been investigating the rise of the pseudo-sponsor, and the phenomenon known as “Ambush Marketing”.
\nRead on to discover some of it’s finest moments….<\/p>\n

The expression ambush marketing was coined in the early nineties by American Express marketing\u00a0guru, Jerry Welsh. His original perception was the idea of healthy competition in a climate of expensive\u00a0and often ill-conceived sponsorships.<\/p>\n

Today, ambush marketing most commonly occurs in association with major sports events, although\u00a0potentially other types of events could be used as a venue. Sponsorship is big business, and one brand\u00a0may pay millions of dollars to become the exclusive and official sponsor of an event. This exclusivity then\u00a0creates a problem for the other brands, and they have to find ways to promote themselves in connection\u00a0with the event, but without paying the sponsorship fee and without breaking any laws.<\/p>\n

For the 2008 Beijing Olympics the T.O.P. (The Olympic Partner) program of 12 sponsors paid a total\u00a0of $866 million for the privilege of exclusivity. These same companies also spent a further $1.2 billion\u00a0on supporting marketing activities. Yet for all this cash, recognition of these brands as the official\u00a0sponsor was rated below 40% amongst consumers in a post games survey. The success of many of\u00a0these campaigns means that ambush marketing has itself become a huge growth industry.<\/p>\n

Sources: Wikipedia, SportsProMedia<\/p>\n

1.Kodak Vs Fuji<\/h2>\n

\"kodak<\/p>\n

According to Professor of marketing at Bath University, Mike Beverland, “Ambush marketing really\u00a0began with Kodak in the 1984 Olympics when they ran a series of campaigns suggesting they were the\u00a0official sponsors when in fact they weren\u2019t.” They successfully managed to convince the consumer\u00a0they were the official sponsor, when in fact it was Fuji Film.<\/p>\n

Kodak ambushed Fuji again in1996. ‘As soon as Atlanta was awarded the rights for the 1996 summer\u00a0games, Kodak bought 50 major poster sites in the city for the next four years, at an estimated $28,000\u00a0per month,’ said Richard Busby, chief executive of Strategic Sponsorship, a leading UK consultancy.<\/p>\n

The local Olympic organizing committee had tried to negotiate a deal with the city’s poster companies\u00a0to offer Olympic sponsors first right of refusal – but they were too late. So, the official sponsor Fuji, was\u00a0again pipped at the post by Kodak.<\/p>\n

Sources: independent.co.uk,channel4.com<\/p>\n

2. Bavaria Beer Vs Budweiser<\/h2>\n

\"Bavaria<\/p>\n

One of the highlights of this year’s World Cup in South Africa occurred during the match between\u00a0Holland and Denmark. 36 female Dutch fans arrived wearing very cute little orange mini-dresses,\u00a0which soon caught the attention of the world’s media. Unfortunately, these ladies were evicted from the\u00a0stadium and arrested by police, as it was claimed the dresses were provided by a Dutch brewery, called\u00a0Bavaria Beer. FIFA officials intervened to stop the media coverage, in order to protect their official\u00a0sponsor Budweiser.<\/p>\n

Peer Swinkels, from Bavaria Beer, said people \u201cshould have the right to wear what they want. The\u00a0Dutch people are a little crazy about orange and we wear it on public holidays and events like the\u00a0World Cup,\u201d he said. “This time we put no branding on the dress. And Fifa don’t have a monopoly\u00a0over orange.”<\/p>\n

Fifa World Cup 2006<\/h2>\n

\"Fifa<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bavaria Beer are no stranger to controversy – or to sports fashion. Back in 2006, during the Fifa World\u00a0Cup in Germany, marketers from Bavaria Beer arrived with around 120,000 pairs of bright orange\u00a0lederhosen emblazoned with the Bavaria brand. Fifa officials issued orders for security people to strip\u00a0the Dutch supporters of the offending articles, which meant hundreds of Dutch fans had to watch the\u00a0game in their underwear. The world\u2019s media ran riot with the story, even suggesting Fifa\u2019s heavy-handed\u00a0approach to protecting it’s official sponsor, Budweiser (again), infringed on human rights.<\/p>\n

Professor Simon Chadwick, who heads up the Center for the International Business of Sport at\u00a0Coventry University explains: \u201cClearly the ambush failed because they didn\u2019t get into the stadium. But\u00a0in another sense it worked perfectly because suddenly everyone across the world was talking about it.”<\/p>\n

Sources: telegraph.co.uk,news.bbc.co.uk, sportspromedia.com<\/p>\n

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3. Coca-Cola Vs PepsiCo<\/h2>\n

\"Coke<\/p>\n

Coca-Cola spent a total of $400 million on marketing in Beijing in 2008, including $85 million to be an\u00a0Olympic sponsor, yet up to 60% of consumers believed Pepsi was the official sponsor.<\/p>\n

PepsiCo’s highly successful marketing campaign included an online competition, in which 160 million\u00a0voters from mainland China ranked mug shots sent in by fans. The winning entries were printed on cans\u00a0cheering on Team China. Pepsi also replaced it’s traditional blue cans in China with red ones “to show\u00a0our respect to the year of China,” says Harry Hui, Pepsi’s marketing chief in China.<\/p>\n

Sources: BusinessWeek,independent.co.uk<\/p>\n

4. Li Ning Vs Adidas<\/h2>\n

\"Li<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Li<\/p>\n

This has been called the greatest marketing ambush in sports history. Adidas, had spent nearly $200\u00a0million to become the official sportswear brand at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 – only to be\u00a0ambushed quite spectacularly by the Chinese sportswear brand Li Ling.<\/p>\n

The problem occurred when Li Ning, a former gymnast and founder of the sportswear company, was\u00a0chosen to light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony. Li Ning was China’s most decorated\u00a0Olympian and a national hero. He was the first Chinese gymnast to win a medal in the Olympics, winning\u00a0three golds, two silvers, and a bronze in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.<\/p>\n

The media exposure effectively gave his company a free ten-minute advert across China and the world.<\/p>\n

Li Ning was shrewd enough to realize that his starring role would lead Chinese consumers to\u00a0automatically believe he was wearing his own apparel \u2013 when in fact he was legitimately bedecked in\u00a0Adidas\u2019 official Olympic clothing. To add to the confusion, Li Ning\u2019s corporate logo resembles the famous\u00a0Nike \u2018swoosh\u2019, while the company slogan, \u2018Anything is Possible\u2019, is similar to the Adidas tag line\u00a0\u2018Impossible is Nothing\u2019.<\/p>\n

It worked – after the event Li Ning’s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped 3.4%.<\/p>\n

Sources: BusinessWeek,sportspromedia.com, advertising.suite101.com<\/p>\n

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5. Visa Vs Amex<\/h2>\n

\"VISA<\/p>\n

One of the most deep-rooted and long-lasting rivalries in marketing occurred between Visa International\u00a0and American Express. These two card companies had been at war ever since Amex lost the Olympic\u00a0rights to Visa after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and hostilities rumbled on into 1992 and\u00a0the Barcelona Olympics. In the US, Visa\u2019s tag line was \u2018the Olympics don\u2019t take American Express\u2019, with\u00a0images of ticket windows being slammed shut in the faces of American Express card holders. American\u00a0Express responded in style, pointing out in its own advertising campaigns that \u2018to visit Spain, you don\u2019t\u00a0need a visa.\u2019<\/p>\n

This is perhaps one of the finest examples of successful ambush marketing. With no recourse to the\u00a0law, proof of a violation of intellectual property rights being very hard to pin down in this instance, Visa\u00a0was forced to accept the campaign as legitimate.<\/p>\n

Sources: sportspromedia.com<\/p>\n

6. Nike Vs Everyone else!<\/h2>\n

\"Nike<\/p>\n

Probably the most outright and unapologetic (not to mention successful) brand to embrace ambush\u00a0marketing is Nike. Nike has ambushed just about every sports shoe manufacturer you can think of…<\/p>\n

Nike Vs Adidas<\/strong>
\nDuring the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Nike made considerable use of the number 8,\u00a0a symbol of luck and fortune in China and incorporated the design pattern on items of clothing and\u00a0footwear.<\/p>\n

For the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, Nike spent $18 million on it’s ambush by funding\u00a0bus-side screens to display the latest scores, and hosting a mysterious “Scorpion” tournament featuring\u00a0some of the world’s best footballers. A December 2001 study found that, from a list of 45 likely sponsors\u00a0of the 2002 World Cup, 20% of those polled picked Nike.<\/p>\n

Nike Vs Umbro<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 1996 Uefa European Championship provided an example of ambush marketing that changed\u00a0the face of sports sponsorship. English sportswear company Umbro had paid for the rights to be the\u00a0official sponsor of the championships, only to find that Nike had purchased all the poster space and\u00a0advertising sites in and around Wembley Park Underground Station, which was the main travel hub for\u00a0England\u2019s national stadium, Wembley.<\/p>\n

Nike Vs Reebok<\/strong><\/p>\n

This time the 1996 Atlanta Olympics provided a huge platform for the sportswear company to show it’s\u00a0marketing muscle, and it wasn\u2019t about to let the fact that Reebok held the official Olympic sportswear\u00a0sponsorship get in the way of that.<\/p>\n

Nike\u2019s ambush of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics demonstrated just how effective ambush marketing can\u00a0be. By saving the $50 million that an official sponsorship would have cost, Nike plastered the city in\u00a0billboards, handed out “swoosh” banners to wave at the competitions and erected an enormous Nike\u00a0center overlooking the stadium. When television audiences were asked to recall the names of official\u00a0sponsors, 22% cited Nike, compared to only 16% who cited the official sponsors, Reebok.<\/p>\n

During the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, Nike held a sponsors press conferences with the US basketball\u00a0team despite Reebok being the official sponsor. One of the most audacious ambush marketing feats\u00a0occurred when both Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, accepted the gold medal for basketball and\u00a0covered up the Reebok logos on their kit. Both athletes were individually sponsored by Nike.<\/p>\n

Nike Vs Converse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Converse was the official sponsor of the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, yet Nike built large scale murals near the Los Angeles Coliseum, which displayed the Nike Logo and several\u00a0of the athletes competing in the games wearing Nike attire.<\/p>\n

Source:BrandChannel.com:<\/span><\/p>\n

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FAQs: Ambush Marketing Explained<\/h3>\n

1. What is ambush marketing?<\/h4>\n

Ambush marketing is a strategy where a brand promotes itself around a major event without being an official sponsor, often creating the impression of association without paying sponsorship fees.<\/p>\n

2. Why do companies use ambush marketing?<\/h4>\n

Companies use ambush marketing to gain massive exposure at high\u2011profile events while avoiding the high costs and restrictions of official sponsorship agreements.<\/p>\n

3. Is ambush marketing legal?<\/h4>\n

In many cases, ambush marketing is legal, as long as it does not infringe on trademarks or violate intellectual property laws\u2014though it is often controversial.<\/p>\n

4. What are some famous examples of ambush marketing?<\/h4>\n

Well\u2011known examples include Kodak vs. Fuji at the Olympics, Bavaria Beer vs. Budweiser at the World Cup, Pepsi vs. Coca\u2011Cola in Beijing, and Nike\u2019s repeated Olympic ambush campaigns.<\/p>\n

5. What can businesses learn from ambush marketing?<\/h4>\n

Businesses can learn the power of creativity, timing, and consumer perception\u2014but they should carefully consider legal boundaries, ethics, and brand reputation before attempting similar strategies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n