GLOBAL – JULY 27, 2012: Irish bookmaker Paddy Power and wine retailer Oddbins follows in the footsteps of Nike, launching campaigns that associate them with the 2012 London Olympic Games and even taking a poke at stringent International Olympic Committee crackdown on guerilla marketing offensives.
Oddbins strikes
Oddbins launched an anti-Olympic campaign on Tuesday to protest against the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (Locog) rules to ensure sponsors shelling out millions secure bang for their buck.
Oddbins promised those who came into its stores with products from rival brands to Olympic sponsors a 30% discount. The company’s website has since seen a 22% increase in traffic.
In an interview with The Drum, Robin Goad, research director at Experian, said, “Yet again, we see that the bold marketing tactics of non-sponsors have significantly impacted web traffic ahead of the games, which is no doubt encouraged by the controversial nature of these campaigns. Similarly to Pepsi and Nike, widespread coverage has helped Oddbins to raise its profile despite the loose link to the games themselves.”
Violation of advertising rules
Meanwhile, Paddy Power’s guerilla marketing effort almost turned into a lawsuit with the company seeking legal help to defend its campaign against Locog’s crackdown. The controversial campaign had been reportedly created to promote the Paddy Power Egg-and-Spoon Race in London, Franch on July 24.
Locog had originally deemed the campaign a breach of sponsors exclusivity rights as it used the words “Official Sponsor”, “Athletics”, and “London” together in an ad.
The Paddy Power outdoor ad says: “Official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London this year! There you go, we said it.”
A Locog spokesman said no action following a review of the ad but the body would continue to closely monitor the situation.
Photo Source: The Telegraph
