Czech Republic: Budvar sued over Olympic ads

The battle of České Budějovice–based brewery Budvar and U.S. giant Anheuser Busch over the right to use the brand name Budweiser has been renewed during the just-ended games, with Budvar facing new charges that it infringed on Anheuser Busch's marketing rights for the games, The Prague Post posted on March 08, 2006.

The Czech Olympic Committee (ČOV) has filed suit against Budvar over what the sporting association says was a misuse of Olympic symbols in Budvar's campaign. "We'll request tens of millions of crowns in compensation for infringing our exclusive Olympic marketing rights," said ČOV lawyer Jan Šťovíček.

Only the official marketing partners of ČOV and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were entitled to use Olympic symbols and athletes in commercials during the games.

Anheuser Busch is a marketing partner of the IOC; Budvar was a business partner of neither. Šťovíček said the IOC is likely to join in the ČOV lawsuit against Budvar next month and Anheuser Busch will take part in the dispute as well. Budvar's director, Jiří Boček, insisted that Budvar did not violate any marketing rights. "We did not use any Olympic symbols in our campaign," Boček insisted.

Representatives of Anheuser Busch did not respond to whether the company will join in the dispute. But few experts say Anheuser Busch would pass up a chance to attack Budvar.

"It would be a surprise if Anheuser Busch missed this opportunity," said Jan Veselý, president of the Czech Federation of Breweries and Malt Houses, who also acts as the president of the European Brewery Convention.

While tens of million of crowns are at stake, bringing the controversy to an international level with the American super brewery would be even more expensive for Budvar, beer market analysts predicted.

Bob and Dave

At issue are a series of Budvar commercials featuring Bob and Dave, two British blokes picking out the various strengths of the Czech culture and referring to the country as a paradise for men.

Before the Olympics, Budvar attempted to capitalize on the expected hockey fever and incorporated Czech Olympic team goalie Milan Hnilička into the Bob and Dave campaign.

Highlights
Reason for the controversy: No corporations apart from the official International Olympic Committee's or national olympic committees' business partners can use Olympic symbols and athletes in their commercial campaigns during the Olympics

What happened: Budvar brewery, which is not an Olympic sponsor, used Czech Olympic hockey team's goaltender Milan Hnilička in its popular TV ad campaign Bob and Dave. In addition, the TV ad featured symbols such as an Olympic torch

How will the case develop: The Czech Olympic Committee filed suit against the brewery, and U.S. rival Anheuser Busch, an IOC business partner, is likely to join in the dispute

With only days remaining till the end of Olympics, ČOV initiated a regional court ruling that ordered Budvar to halt the controversial commercial.

"The TV ad featured symbols such as an Olympic torch and words such as hokejiáda, which is clearly related to Olympiáda," said Judge Jana Kralická, referring to the Czech equivalent for 'the Olympics.'

Budvar consequently modified its marketing campaign and dropped Hnilička from the ad. However, the brewery continued in the Bob and Dave marketing campaign, arguing that it was entitled to do so thanks to its sponsorship contract with the Czech Ice Hockey Association.

Competition fight

But the question remains whether Budvar is being unfairly picked on.

Some 20 other businesses improperly used advertisements featuring Olympic athletes prior to the Turin games and removed them when they received a call from ČOV; Budvar is the only one facing legal action.

Boček said fierce competition on the Czech beer market is driving the controversy.

While Anheuser Busch is a partner of the IOC, Budvar's rival Pilsner Urquell is the only brewery here that holdsć Olympic marketing rights based on the contract with ČOV.

Boček said that in fact, Pilsner Urquell triggered the ČOV lawsuit.

Pilsner Urquell spokesman Alexej Bechtin said his company only insisted on enjoying its exclusive marketing rights, as stipulated in its contract with ČOV.

Jiří Zedníček, ČOV's vice chairman for economy and marketing, said the lawsuit is unprecedented in this country. He said, however, that similar cases could occur in the future.

In a similar controversy abroad, the Swedish Olympic Committee is considering legal action against the organizers of the public welcome parade for the Swedish hockey team that won the gold medal in Turin. Swedish Olympic officials are complaining that sponsors of the Swedish Hockey Association were displayed during the show, rather than the official Olympic sponsors.

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