一支三百多人的督察队在奥运期间的伦敦街头四处巡查，他们的工作并不是为了保护市民，而是为了保护奥运会的赞助商，对所谓的“埋伏式营销”加以制裁。有些零售商利用奥运会的标识（比如五环，甚至是奥运会的名称），但他们并未支付赞助费成为正式的赞助商。而包括维萨公司（Visa）、可口可乐（Coca-Cola）、麦当劳（McDonalds）和阿迪达斯（Adidas）在内的十一家公司为获得伦敦奥运会赞助商授权支付了共14亿美元。奥运会组织方收这笔钱的意思是，赞助商授权属于独家所有。

    2007年，即伦敦被确定为奥运会举办城市的一年之后，位于韦茅斯的肉铺老板丹尼斯•斯普尔被迫摘下了店铺中奥运五环形状的香肠标识，因为奥运品牌督查队威胁要对他处以高达3万美金的罚款。

    A 300-strong task force is prowling the London streets during the Olympics. Their job is not to protect the citizenry, but the Games' sponsors by cracking down on "ambush marketing," a.k.a. retailers that use Olympic branding (the rings, or even just the name) without paying to be an official sponsor. Eleven companies -- including Visa, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Adidas -- have paid a total of $1.4 billion for the right. And organizers mean for it to be exclusive.

    In 2007, a year after London was named host of the Games, butcher Dennis Spurr of Weymouth was forced to take down a sign depicting sausages in the shape of the Olympic rings after brand police threatening him with fines of up to $30,000.

    位于索比顿的另一家商店则故意将奥运会的单词Olympics错误拼写为Oimplycs。不仅仅是“奥林匹克”，还有“2012”、“伦敦”、“金牌”、“银牌”、“铜牌”等字样都禁止被非官方赞助商用于商业用途。

    A shop in Surbiton purposely misspelled Olympics as 'oimplycs.' Olympics -- as well as '2012,' 'London,' 'gold,' 'silver,' and 'bronze' -- is prohibited for commercial use by non-official sponsors.

    很多人都认为，这种对于奥运会品牌的限制显得过于冷酷无情。由于奥运品牌的制约，伦敦南部坎伯韦尔一家咖啡馆不得不将其橱窗陈设的环形百吉饼摘掉。

    To many, the brand restrictions come off as Orwellian. These ring-shaped bagels on display at the House Café in Camberwell south London were forced down in accordance with brand strictures.

    位于伦敦摄政街的一家古依斯（GUESS）品牌服装连锁店在其橱窗中采用了三角形装饰而不是环形。但在奥运品牌督察队那里依然过不了关。这支督察队效命于奥伦匹克交付管理局（Olympic Delivery Authority），该局是伦敦奥运会和残奥会组织委员会的分支机构。

    A Guess retailer on Regent Street in London used triangles instead of rings in their window display. That's a no-no. The brand police work for the Olympic Delivery Authority, which is an arm of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    一个骚乱者偷走了奥运五环的其中一环？不要感到惊讶，他其实是给耐克公司（Nike）做了营销。这位艺术家的照片展现了伦敦人所感受到的奥运品牌制约与去年骚乱镇压之间的关系。

    What's most egregious about a rioter stealing an Olympic ring? He's marketing for Nike, of course. The artist's graphic shows the connection Londoners feel between the brand restrictions and oppression during last year's riots.

    另外一位艺术家则采用披头士乐队穿越艾比路的经典图片来绕过奥运品牌的限制。

    An artist used the classic image of the Beatles walking across Abbey Road to skirt brand regulations.

    如果运动员携带图片中的这种袋子进入赛场，他很可能将面临被取消比赛资格的风险。2012年欧洲足球锦标赛（the Euro 2012）期间，丹麦足球运动员尼可拉斯•本特纳把球衣掀起，露出了带有“帕迪鲍尔”博彩公司（Paddy Power）字样的短裤。奥运会组织方表示，如果运动员在奥运会赛场上出现这种举动，“极有可能可能”会被禁赛。

    If an athlete was to bring one of these bags to an event, he or she would likely face disqualification. During the Euro 2012, Danish footballer Nicklas Bendtner lifted his shirt to reveal underpants plugging 'Paddy Power.' At the Olympics, such a move would "most likely" prohibit an athlete from competing, Olympic organizers said.

    尽管帕迪鲍尔公司博彩公司在2012年欧洲杯期间的埋伏式营销引起了很大争议，但该公司在这次奥运期间依然重施故伎。会不会有运动员为了一点蝇头小利，冒着被取消参赛资格的风险来制造埋伏式营销的噱头呢？

    译者：李玫晓/汪皓

    Despite the controversy for its Euro 2012 ambush marketing, Paddy Power is at it again for the Olympics. Will we see an athlete risk disqualification for a little extra money from an ambush marketing stunt?