Qantas Airlines is "not a sponsor" of this summer's
Sydney Olympics, but that "has not stopped the airline from
closely aligning itself" with Olympic athletes, according to
Andrew Hornery of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, who notes
Qantas' "latest billboards" feature Olympic swimmer Susie
O'Neill and runner Cathy Freeman. Qantas will also run a
"blockbuster" TV ad, via Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, which is
"due for release in the lead-up to the Games." Hornery
cites "industry rumors" that Qantas has spent "several
million dollars" on the production of the ad. Ansett, the
official airline of the Olympics, has "turned a blind eye"
to Qantas' Olympic-themed marketing effort. Ansett
marketing exec Shane O'Hare: "I've seen the stuff from
Qantas and we weren't surprised by it. If anything we
expected them to go down that path." Australian "ambush
marketing proponent" Kim Skildum-Reid (see THE DAILY, 6/9),
on the efforts of Qantas and Ansett: "For ambush marketing
to hold and really work, the official sponsor has to leave
enough gap in the marketing program in their sponsorship for
someone to take advantage" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 6/16).
NIKE'S INT'L APPEAL: In N.Y., Allyson Lieberman reports
that Nike will unveil at the U.N. Monday its "never-before-
seen designs" for the Sydney Games as "part of its strategy
to strengthen its apparel business." Nike will make
"exclusive designs" for the U.S. track & field, rowing,
softball and women's volleyball teams, as well as for teams
from Italy, China, Russia, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands
and others (N.Y. POST, 6/16).
SLOC TURNS DOWN ADS ON TELEMUNDO: Telemundo's Spanish-
speaking TV operation in UT "wanted to run" 2002 Winter
Games ads to recruit volunteers "but was turned down" by the
SLOC. Telemundo's UT TV operation President & GM John
Terrell, who "wanted to sell SLOC ad time," said, "I called
them last month, and the lady said, 'We only want people who
speak English.' She said they didn't want us." SLOC's
Cristina Miller: "Maybe I miscommunicated a bit. I said
volunteers needed to speak English, but they could also
speak other languages" (AP, 6/15).
