Pippa Middleton and family in trouble with Olympic advertising laws

The family business of the Duchess of Cambridge, managed by Pippa and the rest of the Middletons..

13:39 21 July 2012

The family business of the Duchess of Cambridge, managed by Pippa and the rest of the Middletons, could be in breach of advertising laws that cover the London Olympics after the company introduced a range of goods to try and cash in on the games. 

 

The business, called Party Pieces, is selling a huge range of goods and advertising them with the headline ‘Celebrate the Games’ in reference to the London Olympics. The products include Celebrate London decoration and balloons, a ring toss game, and flag banners in multiple colors. 

 

Aside from the controversial headline, Kate’s sister Pippa is also the center of the controversy when she wrote a piece entitled “Celebrate the Games and Support Team GB” on her blog, which links to the items on sale on the company website. 

 

Although the company was very careful not to use the word “Olympics”, search engine results show that when you search for the word into the website’s own search engine, it automatically redirects users to the Celebrate the Games page. 

 

The offence of capitalizing commercially on the London Olympics without being an official sponsor is a criminal offense. Flouting these strict laws could result in court action and a fine of £20,000.

 

These regulations were set by the LOCOG and are in line with a 2006 law drawn up for the protection of the Olympic branding.