The Olympics is one of the biggest events of the sporting seasons and it's little wonder that brands with deep pockets look to get in on the action. This year, global companies such as GE, Coca-Cola and McDonald's spent huge amounts of money to be an official sponsor of the Rio Olympics and get public eyes on their brand during the big event.
Closer to home, Australian brands also invested heavily in sponsoring the Australian team and getting their branding alongside the best athletes the country has to offer.
But spending millions of dollars on sponsorship is one thing; producing an effective ad is quite another. AdNews decided to ask the experts – how did Australia's Olympic ads stack up against offerings from the biggest brands on the planet?
McCann Melbourne chief creative officer Pat Baron:
"Our 2016 Olympic campaign field stacked up well enough against the competition. Having said that, Channel 4’s ‘Meet The Superhumans’ game-changing campaign wins the gold. Initially aired ahead of the London 2012 Olympic games, it was back for Rio and didn’t disappoint. These campaigns have changed the way I feel about Paralympic sport and this campaign’s stylish and imaginative execution captures the courage and skill of these elite world-class athletes.
UnderArmour’s ‘Rule Yourself’ consumer campaign takes the silver medal. This amazingly crafted campaign personifies a fearless confidence that embraces the long nights, ice baths, burning lungs and broken bodies that make striving for Olympic glory worthwhile. ‘It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light.’
Featuring an original song from Sia, rapper Pusha T from Clipse and Brazilian samba-reggae band Olodum, Gillette’s ‘Perfect isn’t pretty’ takes the bronze medal.
In contrast, the Australian contingent is upbeat and light hearted, more of what we’ve come to expect from Olympic advertising in recent times. I’ve enjoyed the odd Maccas run myself and could easily identify with the Maccas ‘All Day Breakfast’ ads. I spend a fair bit of time at my local Woolworths checkout and it’s been hard to miss ‘Grown in Australia, picked for Rio’, whether online, watching live streams or on free-to-air television. Closing out the field is the cheeky Optus #FanUpAUS ‘Support the Aussie Athletes’ campaign – good to see Thorpe back to form. The Australian campaigns have had a good Olympics but like the pool and track in Rio, the UK and US have taken the medals for mind.
Grey chief creative officer/ managing partner Michael Knox:
The telly has been on in the background for the last couple of weeks. And as I bang the keyboard, Bruce is flawlessly talking us through another field of amazing names. How does he do it? How does he turn up so well-informed and effortlessly call an event that’s finished in less than 10seconds. What chance he carries the flag in Tokyo? He’s had another good Olympics. Much like so many athletes. Incredible performances.
But what about the ads, how have they stacked up? I think mantra videos may have won the day. We certainly put a lot of montages with inspiring music and wonderful words to air. Maybe you call these ‘manifesto videos’ or ‘mood reels’. Whatever the case, they’ve been really popular in Rio. Every ad break has at least one. Sometimes a couple even linked quite well together.
But there have been a few standouts for me. Apple’s ‘The human family’ spot has done the Olympic message justice. A timely commentary via the iphone6. Samsung’s ‘The anthem’ would have played nicely in lounge rooms around the world and of course Channel 4’s trailer ‘We’re the Superhumans’ - in all its 3min 12sec glory aired most nights of the second week has done an amazing job on so many levels.
The Royals creative partner Nick Cummins
Maybe it’s because the Olympics come around once every four years, but brands seems to think we’ll have forgotten what they served up to us last time. This year’s no different. It feels just the same as last time and the time before. The familiar journey to Athens, Beijing or Rio. The tried and tested, “Even though they are superhuman, they still use our credit card just like you.” Funnily though, we didn’t see any proud parents of Olympians spots this year. They’re great because getting access to parents is much easier than chasing down Usain.
Admittedly, making an interesting Olympics spot is a tough brief. There’s the question of how much access do we get to the athlete, for starters. And the fact that most of them can’t act (although Ian seems to be doing a good job and having fun these days). Plus the client wants them to interact with the product, for which you can’t blame them when you think about how much the sponsorship is costing them. And it all happens at the last minute.
So how did our work stack up compared to global campaigns? We’ve done well, in my view. It feels like the Australian work has more insight to it. It has some relevance to the audience or the brand. We can have a laugh or a smile and don’t fall in to the familiar trap of awe and hero worship. The global work feels more like, “Hey, look we have sponsored all these cool athletes, here they are being awesome. Oh, and here’s our logo at the end."
Designworks creative director Clinton Duncan:
What captures my attention during the Olympics is the diversity of the humans competing, rather than the wide array of sports we choose to invest our time, passion and considerable energy. What grabs me is the rich diversity of humanity itself. It’s a key part of the role of the Olympics, and in this modern world it’s a role more vital than ever. Celebrating that we are different, whilst also reminding us that we’re all in it together.
It’s through this lens of global unity, juxtaposed against diversity and national character that I couldn’t help but see the local versus international offerings. The local work speaks to what makes us, well… us. While global work, unsurprisingly, seeks to celebrate what unites us all, everywhere.
The Aussie (and NZ) brands have mostly gone for humour. I think it’s a subtle wink and nudge to how the Antipodean psyche recoils from attempts at overly worthiness or anything ‘try-hard’. When given the chance, we would rather take the p*ss than reach for the deep and meaningful. Perhaps my favourite parts of being from Down Under, but I wonder if it means we’re missing out on something.
Contrast our humour with the international efforts. Pieces of advertising reflect the cultural context they emerge from - all too rarely do they elevate them. A global brief for the Olympics presents one of those rare opportunities (with the budget to boot), and it’s great to see agencies and clients embracing their moment to stand up for something.
VISA and UNHCR have chosen to celebrate refugees competing in the Olympics - both stunningly beautiful acts that force us to reconsider how ‘other’ refugees are. Samsung has stitched together anthems from around the world into one global song that shows no matter where or who we are, we seem to all sing about and celebrate pretty much the same things; progress, belief, respect and freedom.
If only the reality of the Olympics was more like the advertising that celebrates it. Less about doping, counting medals, or extending geo-political chess on to the sports field. More about the beauty and eccentricities of humanity itself - be it deep and meaningful or just plain fun.
To see more Olympics themed work from Australia and across the click see our AdNews Olympics collection.
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