‘Ring Ring’: Visual Pun or Passing Off?

Abstract

Competitive reactions to sponsorship have become more aggressive and more sophisticated in recent years. While few companies risk overt transgression of statutes governing commercial behaviour, many are testing the extent to which they can undermine competitors’ activities while remaining within the law. Ambush marketing refers to one such test, and cases alleging ambush marketing have grown and look likely to continue increasing as sponsorship investment increases. This practice raises several questions which have been difficult for the courts to address. In this paper, NZO&CGA v. Telecom, a recent case alleging ambush marketing, is used as the basis of a discussion which examines managers’ use of sponsorship and relates this back to a theoretical framework, the ATR model. Ambush marketing is discussed in the context of the ATR model and a research methodology for exploring the issues raised by NZO&CGA v. Telecom is proposed.