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WILL ATLANTA OLYMPICS BE NATURALLY AMBUSH-PROOF?
Atlanta organizers are "preparing for the most aggressive counterassault yet against ambushes of official sponsors," but AD AGE's Jeff Jensen asks: "Will anyone really want to ride the coattails of the sponsors' megabuck efforts tied to the ['96 Games]?" Many execs believe the marketplace will be so "cluttered with Olympic efforts that it will be difficult for even a sponsor to effectively leverage its investment." Even so, ACOG and the IOC are employing the following anti-ambush tactics: Letters have been sent to ad agencies and media outlets, "warning them not to execute ambush programs or accept media dollars from them." If the warnings fail, they will "embarrass ambushers with ad campaigns or even sue them." Furthermore, a director of sponsor protection has been hired to head up an "anti-ambush" staff -- the first time an "Olympic organizing committee has taken such a measure" (AD AGE, 3/13 issue). OLYMPIC NOTES: GA Gov. Zell Miller added another $2.75M to the state's budget for security, bringing the state's total commitment to security to $4.35M. The amended '95 and proposed '96 budgets also include $8.5M in cost overruns for construction of the Olympic Village at GA Tech (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/14)....Now that the Day 500 mark has passed, many of the planned downtown projects "are coming up short on time, money and construction resources" (Sallye Salter, ATLANTA CONTSTITUTION, 3/12).




