The Summer Olympics are more than five months away, however new sponsorship regulations will soon let advertisers break from the pack of the Olympic ad arena.

The sprint began last summer when the United States Olympic Committee announced a rule change that allows non-Olympic sponsors to run ads starring Olympic athletes during the games. That right was previously reserved for sponsors. But to qualify, non-sponsors must run their marketing "continuously starting no later than March 27." As a result, ads starring Olympians could hit the market well before the Olympic marketing season typically begins.
Previously, the so-called Rule 40 guidelines barred non-sponsors from running ads featuring Olympic athletes during a blackout period that lasted from several days before the opening ceremonies to a few days after the games ended. This year, the games run from 5 to 21 August in Brazil and most ads has to get ready to raise the audience’s attention.

The abolition of the Rule 40 limits the monopoly of sponsors, yet the regulations still grant them with certain advantages, like the ability to use trademarked Olympic phrases and imagery in ads. As a result, ads from non-sponsors will be more generic. For instance, non-sponsors are barred from using phrases such as "Olympic" or "Olympiad." They however can still be part of the Olympic conversation during the games, even if they can't explicitly say "Olympics."

Under Armour can serve as an example to many, in late February they launched a new global campaign featuring members of the U.S. women's gymnastics team. The brand, which competes fiercely with Olympic sponsor Nike, plans to run the campaign during the Olympics. Under Armour is not a USOC sponsor but has deals with several teams, including USA Gymnastics and USA Boxing.
PowerBar, another non-sponsor, is also planning to run ads during the games. The brand has relationships with a few Olympic athletes, including men's marathon runner Meb Keflezighi and women's marathon runner Desiree Linden. "We'll certainly be using them more as we approach the Olympics," said Lance Palumbo, the brand's director of sports marketing.

The amendement might have been triggered by what happened during the 2012 Olympics, when IOC came under fire as several athletes used social media to demand reform to promote brands they are affiliated with during the games, even if the brands are not sponsors. Among the images that gained traction was a picture of an American hurdler, Dawn Harper posted on Twitter showing her mouth covered with tape that had 'Rule 40' written on it.
Without Rule 40 current sponsors might get slightly overshadowed by their competitors, who „threathen” their monopoly on running ads starring Olympic athletes during the games.
Officials try to keep calm the uptight. "Everybody is watching it closely … and really relying on the governing body to ensure that everyone's rights are protected both on the official sponsor side and the non-sponsor side," said Mary Scott, president of sports and brand experience at United Entertainment Group, a sports and entertainment agency.

Main USOC sponsors include Coca-Cola Co., Nike, Anheuser-Busch InBev and McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg Co. and Omega.

Sources:
www.adage.com