Ambush marketing is a name given to marketing campaigns that are also done around the event , but where no money is paid for the event . The Macmillan English Dictionary defines ambush marketing as a marketing strategy in which a competing brand connects itself with a major sporting event without paying sponsorship fee . According to McCarthy , ambush marketing is a type of marketing by a company that is not an official sponsor of an event , but which places advertisements using the event , to induce customers to pay attention to the advertisement .