Ambush marketing has been plaguing the official sponsors of many sporting and other events. Ambushing itself has become an art and takes various forms - both direct and indirect. Though considered somewhat unethical, not all forms of ambush marketing can be considered illegal, and the affected party may not have any legal recourse, unless the method adopted violates any of the other existing laws. However, in some situations, specific steps are being taken and the legal framework is being strengthened to protect the official sponsors against ambushing. Nonetheless, complete elimination of ambushing is not possible, and ambush marketing thrives as an "unofficial" marketing tool.

Commercial sponsorship is big business today. Sponsorship of sporting or cultural events is an increasingly popular way of generating positive image about a company. Companies sponsor for a variety of reasons. For some marketers such as tobacco and alcohol companies which have limited media choice, sponsorship became quite important as a marketing avenue. Sponsorship simply offered them a means of communication with their customers and prospects. For example, tobacco companies like Rothmans and Benson and Hedges were well-known for sponsoring cricket tournaments in the 1980s.

Today, sponsorship has become an inevitable part of the integrated marketing communications strategy of many big corporates in enhancing their corporate image. Sponsorship may be the fastest growing form of marketing communication. Today, advertising and public relations people are getting involved in organizing many kinds of special events for their clients. However, the problem of ambush marketing has been plaguing the organizers of many sporting and other events.

Ambush marketing refers to a situation in which a company or product seeks to ride on the publicity value of a major event without having contributed to the financing of the event through sponsorship.Ambush marketing is also known as "Parasitic marketing". Parasite means those living organisms that live on food made by other living creatures. Parasitic marketing means taking the advantage of value of major event's publicity, i.e., that product or company lives on food made by the events, which they have not sponsored.

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