U.S. distance runner Kate Grace's victory in the 800-meter final on Monday at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials was a "major victory" for her sponsor Oiselle, but a USOC official on Tuesday "told the company to take down all photos of Grace and other Oiselle athletes competing at the trials from the company's social media platforms," according to Scott Reid of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Seattle-based Oiselle, a women's running and fitness apparel company, "posted on its Instagram page a photo of a beaming Grace clutching an American flag just minutes after the race." Patrick O'Neil, Grace's boyfriend, on Facebook wrote, "Team USA welcomed my girlfriend Kate Grace to the team by making her support system of 5 years, Oiselle, delete all images of her winning the USA Olympic Trials and realizing her Olympic Dream." Oiselle co-Founder & CEO Sally Bergesen said, "There's a lot of people, including lawyers, that think this is an overreach by the USOC. We're consulting with our attorneys right now about how to respond appropriately and not just be bullied into something." Reid notes the controversy "is the latest dispute to pit athletes and non-affiliated corporate sponsors against the USOC" regarding who "controls the right to market athletes" around the Olympics (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/7).
CHANGE NOT ENOUGH? ADWEEK's Christine Birkner noted while companies like Under Armour have "successfully capitalized on the Rule 40 changes," Bergesen "feels the rule is still too restrictive." Bergesen: "The relaxed Rule 40 is a joke. You had to have submitted your campaign in January, before anybody's qualified for anything. Then, you need to start running your campaign in March, so you don't get any timing benefit with the Olympics. For small businesses, running an ad campaign from March through August is really expensive." Oiselle is "considering ways to talk about the Olympics on social media that don't use Olympics IP, like creating alternative terms for the games, such as #TheBigEvent, or using its 400 individual brand ambassadors (non-Olympic hopefuls) to post about the Olympics on social media, which is allowed." Bergesen: "We'll get creative and find a way to recognize our athletes" (ADWEEK.com, 7/5).
