Australian Olympic Committee sues Telstra over Rio advertisement

Canberra, July 16 (IANS) The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has sued the country's largest telecommunication company Telstra over the latter's "I go to Rio" advertisement in the Federal Court.

In a statement issued on Friday, the AOC said Telstra is trying to mislead the public into believing the company is a sponsor of the Australian Olympic team.

AOC said the two sides mutually decided not to continue their long standing partnership in 2015. Therefore, Telstra's recent "I go to Rio" marketing campaign is regarded by the AOC as a clear attempt to deceive Australians, reports Xinhua.

Promotions appearing on Channel Seven have described Telstra as the "official technology partner" to Seven's Olympic Games broadcast, and included a modern version of Australian singer and songwriter Peter Allen's 'I go to Rio'.

Local media reported that Telstra has modified the advertisements after the AOC raised legal concerns.

A Telstra spokesman said the promotions in question reflected the company's existing commercial arrangement with the Seven Network, Australia's Olympic broadcaster.

"Our current advertising simply promotes that commercial arrangement and that Telstra customers get free access to premium content through the Seven app," the spokesman said.

AOC refused to comment further on the case.