Why the suppliers are silent during the Olympic Games

Wed, Jan  29, 2014 - By Ian Harvey

You may have noticed over the years that the equipment suppliers are either very quiet or providing very general information leaving out the most interesting details that aficionados would want to see. This is not by choice. The IOC is extremely aggressive in what it considers is protecting itself and its image.

For this reason, manufacturers do not use Olympic rings or any other Olympic logos in communication. During the Games, they don't make any direct claims whatsoever such as this sponsored athlete (who might have a contract with us and has used our product all year long) used our product in some way at the Olympic Games or even imply product use or even affiliation with any athlete during the games by way of an image or any other manner of communication.

Of course media outlets distribute "news" and photos of the games showing athletes using the products such as skis, snowboards, apparel, eyewear, helmets, etc during the games which speak for themselves, but that's the point, they have to speak for themselves and some products can't as they are not visible such as wax, supplements, apparel that is not visible such as socks or technical underwear, etc.

If you are interested in knowing more, here is a link to the IOC's guidelines regarding the Sochi Games on the subject.