Olympic Committee launches Federal Court action against Telstra ambush
The Australian Olympic Committee has launched Federal Court action against its former long term sponsorship partner Telstra in a bid to stop it ambushing the Rio games, saying the telco was trying to “deceive Australians”.
The AOC said it needed to stand up for its rights after Telstra launched a campaign promoting the Olympics app on the Seven Network using the Peter Allen hit, I Go to Rio.
Telstra was forced to pull the ads earlier this week but then relaunched them with disclaimers stating it was not associated with the games or the AOC after threats from the AOC.
However the amendments were not enough and the AOC launched the action in the Federal Court on Friday with a directions hearing fast tracked to be heard on Monday and the full hearing expected later in the week.
As an ex Olympian (Sailing 1988) I feel the AOC/IOC doth protest too much for an organisation which has privatised a public good, and is certainly not an organisation that has lived up to Olympic ideals itself with bribery issues continuously surfacing. When I was a kid, the Olympic symbols were something we drew, and saw everywhere as symbol of a universal ideal. Now you barely see it anymore. The IOC cabal are increasingly privatising a piece of IP that is 2792 years old. Even Disney’s Mickey Mouse is only allowed 75 years. The IOC had 2012 revenues of $US$3.3b and net equity of $1.99b. It’s not exactly an amateur Olympic movement any more.
My view is that going to RIO is a measure of support. If I can yell out at an airport departure I Go to RIO, what’s the AOC/IOC doing in this? Are they going to sue the Peter Allen estate? Thank you Telstra for reminding me to use my Telstra contract (say if I had one) for viewing the Olympics on my mobile.