MARKETING

American Express Denies Lawsuit Involvement: American Express Co. denied reports that it had been sued by the International Olympic Committee over newspaper and television advertisements critical of rival Visa International, an official sponsor of the winter Olympic games. American Express placed its ads to retaliate against Visa ads that boasted: “The Olympics don’t take American Express.” In San Francisco, a Visa spokesman questioned American Express’ assertion that “the IOC understands the destructiveness of Visa’s advertising,” stating that the IOC approved the Visa ads. The IOC could not be reached for comment.