The (marketing) goal of the tournament

The 2010 World Cup is less than a week old and the biggest story – off the field at least – has highlighted the complex and cutthroat world of official sponsorships and marketing.

Let’s start at the beginning. During the match between the Netherlands and Denmark earlier this week the camera paused for a second on a group of Dutch supporters in the crowd, all wearing identical orange mini dresses. This searching out of attractive female fans for a quick crowd shot has become a World Cup tradition over the years so the majority of people didn’t pay much notice.

But some people most certainly did. Before the end of the game all 36 women were ejected. As it turns out they had been kitted out in their dresses by Dutch beer company Bavaria, who are not an official sponsor.

In a further twist the women were in seats allegedly allocated to ITV pundit and former international footballer Robbie Earle, who has since been sacked by the broadcaster.

As the story developed the general public were introduced to the phrase ‘ambush marketing’ – or, for the uneducated, the act of promoting a company that is not an official sponsor. It’s a practice that has been going on for years but has never grabbed the headlines as much as this incident.

The situation is snowballing quickly and it has now emerged that two of the women have had their passports confiscated and face charges under the Merchandise Marks Acts and the Special Measures Regulations. Police spokesman Colonel Naidoo said the women were “suspect to be involved in organised acts to conduct commercial activities” and warned that the police view ambush marketing “in a very serious light”. The duo are on bail and will appear in court next week.

Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen has weighed in to the situation, saying it it is “outrageous” that the women have been arrested.

While all this is going on there will be some very satisfied faces in the marketing department at Bavaria. For the cost of 36 little orange dresses they have got more publicity than the likes of Budweiser – who have poured millions into their World Cup campaign.

When the surveys start to ask which brands consumers remember from South Africa 2010 you can bet that Bavaria will be high on the list and the fate of the gaggle of Dutch women and the sacking of Robbie Earle, who is protesting his innocence, will ensure that their name remains in the headlines – and everyone’s minds – throughout the tournament and beyond.