With the 2012 London Olympics done and dusted, we thought we'd take a look at some of the ads which jumped on the bandwagon without being official Olympics sponsors. Which one do you like the most?
1) Jeep
While Jeep was a broadcast sponsor, the brand put out a whole bunch of television spots through CumminsRoss and Maxus which made it look like Jeep was the official car of the Olympics. The advertiser had people screaming “Go Australia!” while interviewing Australian athletes from a club in London.
2) Nike
This was perhaps the most well-known ambush spot, where places called London from different parts of the globe (other than England) were showcased. Devious? Yes. But very clever nonetheless.
3) iSelect
What a funny ad from the Australian price comparison site. It really pokes fun of the whole Olympics ambush thing. The main character says: “Every four years it’s the same story. Companies that have nothing to do with the Games jumping on the bandwagon.”
4) Specsavers
When the North Korean women's football team refused to play because the South Korean flag was being flown instead of their own, Specsavers jumped in with this nifty bit of ambush marketing.
5) Durex
This one wasn't even a real ad. It was a part of The Drum's Fauxlympics competition. But Adweek thought it was a real ambush campaign, so we thought we'd throw it in for good measure.
6) Qantas
This is one from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. While we may be talking about the 2012 Olympics, we just couldn't help adding this supreme feat of ambush marketing. In 2000, Qantas launched one of its biggest ever campaigns around the time of the Sydney Olympics, even thought its rival Ansett was the official sponsor.
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