Italian authorities penalise six companies for unauthorised Olympic-themed ads, totalling 2.5 million euros in fines.
ITALY’S Competition Authority (AGCM) said Friday it had fined six companies a total of 2.5 million euros ($2.86 million) for ambush marketing during the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
“The fined companies conducted advertising campaigns and promotional activities which frequently featured or evoked the Olympic symbols and emblems, and/or official names such as ‘Milano-Cortina/Milano-Cortina2026’,” the AGCM said in a statement.
The six companies, all Italian, were fashion company Harmont & Blaine, supermarket chains Il Gigante, MD, Oasi and Pro7 and bottled gas distributor Butan Gas.
The AGCM said they were guilty of “parasitism” because they “created an association between their brand and the Olympics, thereby misleading the public as to the identity of the official sponsors”.
Harmont & Blaine sponsored a chalet on the edge of the Olympic slopes in the resort of Cortina and used photos of the nearby Olympic rings to advertise a collection on social media.
The Neapolitan brand, which denied any link between these advertising campaigns and the Games, was fined 500,000 euros.
Pro 7, which ran an advertising campaign in which their mascot held an Olympic flame or curled, skated or bob-sledded down a supermarket aisle, was fined a total of 550,000 euros.
In northern Italy, the Il Gigante chain ran a promotional campaign for electronic goods called “TecnOlimpiadi” in January, just before the Games.
Its owners argued that the campaign was short and in “good faith”. It was fined 310,000 euros.
Oasi, which ran an “Olympic discounts” campaign in January and February, was fined 500,000 euros.
MD, which used the Olympic rings in its campaign was fined 300,000 as was Butan, which used the Olympic mascots and the rings.
