Spectators at next year's Olympic Games in London could be barred from using their iPhones, iPads or other smartphones because of the potential the devices could disseminate unpaid advertising.
Proposals to combat ambush marketing around the Games could ban "carrying an apparatus by which an advertisement is displayed" at or within a few hundred metres of venues during most events. Internet advertisers could also unwittingly break the law. Nick Johnson of Osborne Clarke lawyers said: "Londoners will have to leave their mobile phones at home at Games time if they want to comply with the law, and brands will have to stop advertising on the internet." The law is aimed at stopping guerrilla advertising such as that carried out by Bavaria Beer during the South African World Cup when 36 women wore dresses with their logo on into the Holland vs Denmark game. A spokeswoman for the department for culture, media and sport said: "We have no intention of criminalising people for using their iPads or phones and people will be completely free to use their mobile devices. These rule are set up to stop big companies using the Olympics to promote their brand when they have not paid to do so." The draft legislation has been issued for consultation with May 30 the deadline for responses.
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Six and half million tickets for the 19-day sporting event went on sale last month. The Games' opening ceremony is Friday, July 12, 2012.
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