The London 2012 Olympic Truce programme was launched this week.

But with the countdown clock ticking towards 300 days, a truce is the last thing to expect in the marketing wars for which the London Games will be a prime theatre of operations.

"Ambush" marketing tactics - whereby organisations seek to associate their brands with the Olympic values, without going to the bothersome expense of actually becoming an official sponsor - are often the most titillating aspect of these wars for journalists such as me.

Mere words can scarcely convey to you my excitement three years ago at the Olympic Opening Ceremony in Beijing when Li Ning, the Chinese gym shoe magnate, started moonwalking his way around the roof of the Bird's Nest stadium, in perhaps the biggest ambush marketing coup of all time.


Of course, I recognise that getting excited - and, still worse, writing - about instances of ambush marketing constitutes deviant behaviour of the worst kind and may encourage activities that could ultimately undermine the whole Olympic edifice.

After all, if official sponsors start to notice their main competitors parking marketing tanks all over their Olympic lawn free of charge, they might start to conclude that the steep ticket prices they have paid are no longer worth it.

But - what can I say? - I can't help it.

In any case, to judge by the sponsorship dollars generated by Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016, as well as London, we are a long way from that situation yet.

So, I feel at liberty to disclose that my ambush marketing antennae were twitching away to their heart's content this week when I read about the new GREAT campaign launched in New York by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister.

This is billed as a drive to "maximise [the] economic potential of London 2012 and deliver long term growth as a key part of Britain's Olympic legacy".

Leave aside for now the matter of whether this will actually work; what intrigued me most of all was the list of quotes supportive of this Olympic-related initiative from various captains of commerce and industry that appeared on page 3 of the (strictly embargoed) press release.

Which retail executive was at the top of the list?

Would it have been, do you think, the boss of John Lewis, one of 28 London 2012 Tier Three Suppliers and Providers?


Actually, no, it was Marc Bolland, chief executive of Marks & Spencer.

And what about the banker in the number two slot? Surely some big cheese from Lloyds TSB, one of seven Tier One partners.

Er, nein. It's Colin Grassie, chief executive UK of Deutsche Bank.

The electricity man in fourth place on the list? Monsieur so-and-so of EDF, surely?

Mais non. Try Steve Holliday, chief executive of National Grid?

True, some Olympic and Paralympic sponsors do get a look in: Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury's Supermarkets, is there; so is Rio Tinto's Tom Albanese.

And I am not suggesting for one moment that this is remotely comparable to that breathtaking Li Ning moment in 2008.

But I do think I might be a little cheesed off if I had spent millions securing an official sponsorship category only to see a competitor's name up in lights in an initiative such as this.

Anyway, marketing students had best fasten their seat belts: you are bound to hear much more of this type of debate in months to come.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here.