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With the stage set for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the pressure is mounting for competitors to make their mark on a global stage that comes only once every four years.
Advertisers also feel the heat to deliver during an event that attracts high brand interest due to its over 13 million spectators and 4 billion viewers around the world. NBCUniversal set a new ad revenue record with Paris 2024, securing $1.2 billion in commitments, over $350 million of which came from new advertisers.
Yet the Games have also been facing questions in recent years about their continued relevance, and Paris 2024 is under scrutiny after organizers promised a more transparent, ethical and sustainable event. Plus, audiences are fracturing across myriad platforms. Against this backdrop, standing out as a brand during the tournament is in itself an Olympic feat.
A unique set of expectations come with making an Olympics ad.
“When dealing with an audience of that size, you want to create something iconic and timeless, which can live on and be referenced,” said Pete Nordstrom, group creative director at Ogilvy New York, which created Powerade’s Paris 2024 ads.
Walking a crowded tightrope
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) notoriously has tight and complex regulations for brand partners, which can present added creative challenges to agencies. One creative told ADWEEK about an idea being scrapped because it talked about the concept of time, which is the domain of longtime sponsor Omega.
This year’s Olympic advertisers are also playing in a competitive field, grappling for attention amid a busy “summer of sport” that has already included the UEFA Euro championship, Wimbledon and Copa América, to name a few.
In this crowded and oversaturated landscape, marketers can fall into the trap of perpetuating clichéd narratives about sports.
“Everything starts to look the same,” said Thierry Albert, creative director of studio Albert Albert, pointing to sports marketing tropes such as manifesto ads or voiceovers talking about greatness and coming together.
Those tropes are also easy to lean on in a more polarizing environment where advertisers can face social media backlash, causing some to lead with caution as opposed to taking creative risks, Albert said.
He presented an idea to Paris 2024 organizers for an ad that would thank sponsors for their support. His initial concept imagined what athletes would do if the Olympics couldn’t happen—a fencer used his sword to slice meat at a kebab shop, while a pole vaulter used his vault to fish.
However, the clients opted for a crowd-pleasing idea that was easier to sell internally, according to Albert. In the resulting ad, French comedian Thomas VDB dubs over athletes saying “merci” in a variety of playful ways.
