Ads for the luxury brand featuring the Olympic medalist were released three days early, breaking the July — August 2012 ban on non-Olympic marketing campaign set by the Olympic Committee. If the images were leaked intentionally by Louis Vutton, Phelps could have been stripped of his most recent medals.
The Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Rule 40 stipulates that Olympians can’t promote brands that aren’t official sponsors between July 18 and August 15, and the price of violation is high.
An IOC official recently announced that Phelps will be able to hold on to all 22 of his medals since the swimmer wasn’t responsible for the leak. [PSFK]
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