Canadian Olympians feeling left out of IOC sponsorship rule

Weeks before Andre De Grasse or Michael Phelps finish a race in Rio, you'll likely see them on your screens promoting everything from pizza to workout gear as a landmark commercial rule change impacts Olympic marketing efforts.

For the first time under the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Rule 40, brands not partnered with the Olympics can continue to market their athletes during the Games. As long as they don't create an association to the Olympics or here at home to Team Canada by using a list of protected Olympic trademarks, they're safe.

Yet while Phelps will be well-paid for his stunning campaign with Under Armour, which will run straight through Rio, few Canadian athletes have non-Olympic sponsors taking advantage of this unprecedented opportunity.

This doesn't mean you won't see any Canadian athletes marketed during Rio. Major Olympic sponsors such as RBC or Bell pay the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) for the right to use the Olympic trademarks and associate with various Team Canada athletes. The majority of Canadian marketing efforts throughout Rio 2016 will involve these bonafide Olympic partners.

Heptathlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton is already putting her smile to work for Crest; parent company Procter & Gamble is a worldwide Olympic sponsor. Reigning Olympic trampoline champion Rosie MacLennan and beach volleyball medal contender Heather Bansley are both involved with Sport Chek's campaign through parent company Canadian Tire and their sponsorship of the COC.

'New' Rule 40 not increasing sponsorship

In order to jump on the opportunity from a relaxed Rule 40, a non-Olympic sponsor had to fill out a waiver and submit its marketing creative to the COC by March 27.

It seems many took a pass.

"I think the challenge with Rule 40 was it's somewhat unrealistic to expect a non-Olympic sponsor to take advantage of the flexibility of IOC Rule 40. To get them in market by March 27 is really challenging," said Brian Levine, who is part of De Grasse's management team. Levine is also a marketing representative for Rio medal hopefuls Theisen-Eaton, Shawn Barber, and Mark de Jonge among others.

Additionally, De Grasse will supplement his more lucrative contracts with additional sponsors. He will pad his multi-million dollar Puma shoe deal with Canadian companies like Pizza Pizza.

Hurdler Sarah Wells is also involved in a pre-Olympic opportunity, appearing in ads for a Winners training line. However, it will end before the Rio window because of Rule 40.

The COC makes sure everyone plays by the rules, and has bared-teeth legally in the past. For Rio de Janeiro, the committee's commercial rights team aims to be progressive, especially with digital marketing, by slackening the leash on social conversation such as congratulatory tweets. Its hope is to encourage well-planned partnerships for Canadian athletes, and the March deadline was one mechanism for this.

'No hype around Rio'

The question remains whether the rule change, announced in 2015, came too close to Rio to help athletes or their agents find any new money.

Kris Mychasiw, who represents Wells, says the majority of Canadian Olympians survive on their Sport Canada cheque, which is sometimes little more than a rent payment. And he believes the sponsorship market may be cooling.

"There's something that's off this year, it doesn't seem the same to me, there's no hype around Rio right now," said Mychasiw, "I wonder if all this nonsense going on with Russia and Kenya and all this bad press about doping is starting to affect not only track and field but the Games itself and companies saying, 'You know what? We're not going to do an ad campaign with XYZ athlete because they turn over a positive test,'" he said.