Non-Sponsor Brands Play Games With Winter Olympics

Sponsors flock to the Olympics because the games provide a worldwide platform for brand promotion. Implied in a sponsorship is a company's exclusivity in its brand category – and in the United States, that's something the US Olympic Committee vigorously defends.

Witness the current controversy surrounding the upcoming Winter Games. Television ads just released by Subway and Verizon Wireless feature references to the games – but neither advertiser is an official Olympic sponsor.Continue reading...