Commercial sponsorship involves the sponsor in funding activities such
as sports, the Arts, and community projects as a method of marketing
communications. The practice whereby another company, often a competit
or, seeks association with the sponsored activity without payment to t
he activity owner is known as ambush marketing. This behavior reduces
the effectiveness of the official sponsors' promotional efforts while
simultaneously denying the activity owner potential revenue. This pape
r examines the main strategies employed by ambush marketers as well as
the counter strategies which corporate sponsors can use to protect th
eir investments. The effectiveness of ambush marketing is analyzed as
is the morality of this increasingly prevalent competitive behavior. A
research agenda for this underresearched aspect of marketing communic
ations is also proposed.