The Advertising Appeal of Sports and the Legal Limits of the Incorporation of Sports in Advertising

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyse the use of sports in advertising practise from sociological and legal perspectives. After outlining the reasons why sport is found to be such an attractive context for use in advertising, this article aims to establish the limits that law imposes on the use of sports in advertising; what threats should be borne in mind from a legal point of view when deciding to use sport in the promotion of one’s goods or services. The first part of the article analyses the main findings of various pieces of sociological research concerning the key characteristics of sport and sports fans which make sport an attractive tool for advertising. The second part of this work deals with the ‘official’ involvement of sport in advertising including actions performed under sponsorship, endorsement, merchandising or broadcasting agreements, and aims to highlight frameworks imposed by legal regulation in order to control the three most important problems; the advertising of tobacco and alcohol in sports, ambush marketing relating to sports events and the implications of monopolistic status of most rights holders related to sport. In order to provide a comprehensive review, various levels of regulation are consulted including international and national instruments and documents enacted by international federations at the self-regulatory level.