Qantas Airlines has "pulled off the marketing coup" of
the Sydney Games by "dominating" NBC's Olympics coverage
Friday during the opening ceremonies, according to McIlveen
& McGuire of the AUSTRALIAN, who report that the deal comes
despite Ansett's SOCOG sponsorship. NBC Sports Chair Dick
Ebersol revealed yesterday that during the introduction to
NBC's coverage, there will be "long, lingering shots of a
Qantas jet flying over a mist-shrouded San Francisco
harbour." McIlveen & McGuire write that NBC's portrayal of
the airline "undermines" Ansett Airlines A$50M Australian
Olympic deal, but Qantas "denied yesterday" that it was
engaging in ambush marketing. Qantas has earlier been
threatened with legal action by Ansett over alleged ambush
marketing. Ebersol: "We are not a party to the SOCOG
partnership rules." NBC chartered Qantas jets to fly about
3000 of its Olympic coverage staff to Sydney (AUSTRALIAN,
9/14). The AP's Larry Siddons writes Qantas' kangaroo logo
appears near the start of a five-minute taped teaser that
will launch Friday's Olympic coverage on NBC. The airline's
name is "clearly visible for about 30 seconds." Ebersol, on
the footage: "This is based on a historical fact. Qantas
was the airline that crossed that gulf" (AP, 9/14).
