For advertisers to raise the bar, Ogilvy’s Nordstrom advised talking less about the brand and telling specific, authentic stories about the athletes, like when Powerade spotlighted American track and field sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, swimmer Katie Grimes and gymnast Simone Biles.
“That’s where the territory gets rich,” he said.
Matt Readman, chief strategy officer of Dark Horses, a U.K. agency specializing in sports and fitness marketing, said that to retain relevance, it’s time for marketers to challenge traditional narratives about the Games, particularly the “over-romanticization of sports” and its power to bring people together.
“That’s a blinkered view of what’s actually going on in the world. There’s so much stuff you’re wallpapering over, that you’re losing credibility [with that narrative],” he said. “Maybe we need a fresh approach to marketing [the Olympics] and the way brands talk about it.”
Not in the ad breaks
Some of the best Olympics marketing this year won’t happen in the ad breaks at all, according to industry leaders.
“What we’re seeing a lot more of is work around the edges, from brands starting to understand fan conversations and what’s happening in culture and finding an additive role rather than being in the ad break,” said Toan Ravenscroft, managing director of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Amsterdam.
One recent example came from underwear and apparel brand Knix, which isn’t an Olympics sponsor but used the moment to call attention to the taboo of periods in sports. Knix is offering to pay athletes to talk publicly about this issue.
As younger audiences spend more time on social media and streaming, they’re more likely to be tuned into conversations about the Games there, observed Daisy Domenghini, managing director, EMEA, at VaynerMedia. Many athletes themselves are sidestepping traditional and brand channels to share their personal experiences through social media.
She said because of this trend, more brands activating around the Games are considering ways to engage niche or fringe audiences who might not tune into the broadcasts. For example, Olympics sponsor Visa made a hero ad, but it also produced a collection of online docuseries that told stories about Team Visa athletes, local influencers and creators in Europe.
