ICC World Cup 2011, ICC to tackle players involved in ambush marketing
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has threatened to throw any player out of the World Cup 2011, who is found to be indulging in “ambush marketing.”
“(Any player) breaches the squad terms may face sanctions”, David Becker, ICC’s legal head stated in a memo saying that the guilty player may be excluded from the event along with financial penalties.
The memo was sent to all the international players and the cricket boards of the participating countries regarding guidelines for commercials and endorsements during the World Cup.
The memo read that the squad members could not allow their names and images to be used by any third party for any commercial purpose that implies its direct or indirect association with the event.
According to the memo, the players would not be able to endorse a brand seven days prior to the start of the World Cup and the restriction will end only when a team is knocked out of the much-awaited event.
Becker stated that the players are barred to advertise a brand or insignia of any third party on team uniform, team kit or practice kit or any other clothing directly related to the game.
However, the ICC has allowed the members to feature in any advertisement if they are appearing in “casual clothing” and not representing national colors.
The issue caused a huge ruckus during the 2007 World Cup and it directly affects the players, who have already tied themselves with their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) endorsements.
Sources state that the Indian players Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 (BCCI) chief on Friday to discuss the restrictions.
The ICC has been cracking down on companies and other marketing heads that are attempting to ambush the World Cup and violating or infringing their intellectual property rights.
The game’s governing body has been active in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747, who is one of the co-hosts of the event, over the past week in order to protect the official World Cup sponsors. The ICC has been removing the official logos and trademarks from online advertisements,
especially the travel agents that are seeking to cash in on the event’s hype.
The ICC had earlier signaled that their legal marketing team will crack down on any “unlicensed commercial exploitation”.
Tags: