Olympics-Officials pledge to flush out ambush marketing firms

VANCOUVER Feb 11 (Reuters) - Games officials have vowed to protect athletes and fans they say are being 'cheated' by companies who purport to be official Olympic sponsors when they have not paid for the right.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on Thursday named the food chain Subway as one of a number of companies engaged in such ambush marketing.

Subway, who have denied any wrongdoing, feature 14-time Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps in an advertising campaign which USOC believes implies the fast food chain are an official national Olympic team sponsor.

"The way that we help the Olympic movement, we use the marks to raise the revenue for our athletes and when a company crosses that line, and I'll name Subway as one of those companies, it hurts our athletes," USOC chief marketing officer Lisa Baird said on Thursday.

"They need to know that we feel they have crossed the line and we are going to continue to be right after them."

USOC, who first raised the issue in January, did not confirm if any legal action would be taken but have claimed support from members of the U.S. Senate.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have also taken a firm stance on ambush marketing in general.

"The IOC and its partners in the Olympic Movement take the threat of ambush marketing very seriously," Gerhard Heiberg, IOC marketing commission chief, said in a statement.

"Ultimately, companies which try to create the false impression that they are an official partner of the Olympic Games, or create a false association with the Olympic Games, are cheating Olympic athletes, Olympic Games' organisers and Olympic fans."

(Additional reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Miles Evans; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)