While Nike, an official sponsor of the 2000 Sydney
Olympics, has "long worn the ambush marketer label following
its antics at the Atlanta Olympics," adidas, not an Olympic
sponsor, is "about to do a 'Nike' on Nike and launch a
multi-million-dollar" ad campaign featuring "celebrity"
Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe in an effort to "cash
in on Olympic fever," according to a report in the SYDNEY
MORNING HERALD. Additionally, making the spot "even more
controversial" is the full-body swimsuit Thorpe wears in it,
as he "revealed two weeks ago" that he would not wear the
suit of Speedo, an official sponsor of the Australian
Olympic team (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5/11).
FOOT NOTE: Police in West Java, Indonesia, confirmed
the destruction of more than 160,00O pairs of counterfeit
athletic shoes, bearing infringements of MA-based Converse's
logo, that were marketed under names such as "One Star" and
"Dallas Star." The investigation was headed by Harley Lewin
of N.Y.-based Graham & James, Converse's longtime outside
counsel. Converse and New Balance cooperated in the
investigation (Converse).
