World Cup Boots Dutch Beer Babes

FIFA cracks down on 'ambush marketing'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Suggested by browzman
Posted Jun 16, 2010 2:04 AM CDT
World Cup Boots Dutch Beer Babes
Barbara Castelein shows the tag of her dress during an interview outside the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.   (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)

Dozens of Dutch football fans in miniskirts were escorted from a World Cup stadium and questioned for hours over what FIFA soccer officials say was an ambush marketing stunt. The 36 women wore orange dresses sold by Dutch beer maker Bavaria. The outfits had no branding on them apart from a small tag, but FIFA officials say the women were being used by the Dutch brewery to undercut Budweiser's exclusive sponsorship deal, the Guardian reports.

"They tried to scare us by telling us that we had committed a crime, and that we had broken a law and that we could get six months jail for breaking this law," one of the women said. "Some girls were really scared, they were crying and calling their parents." A British TV pundit was fired for having supplied the miniskirted crew with tickets. Photos of the young women were splashed all over the front pages of South African newspapers the next day, proving the dangers of trying to crack down on ambush marketing, analysts tell AP.
(More 2010 World Cup stories.)

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