Inspiring, uplifting and hugely popular: Even in an uncertain year, companies spent more than $1 billion on adsOpens a new window timed to the Tokyo Games as the Olympics showcased once again how elite athletes can move the needle for advertisers.
Crunching the numbers from this year’s Olympics, here are some of the trends emerging from the season’s biggest advertising palooza:
1. Virtually all Olympic ads this year fell into one of three categories: Athlete endorsement (like this Reese’s spotOpens a new window ), the goodness of humanity (see Samsung and Toyota), and the joy of triumph/competition (hello, Modelo and Peloton). Sure, there were outliers, and it’s like Covid doesn’t even existOpens a new window for some advertisers, but it’s safe to say the Olympics is still about the feel good.
2. Olympic ads didn’t really appear outside of Olympic programming. For example, almost all Toyota ads that appeared during Olympic programming were completely Olympics-focused, brand building with almost no mention of actual products. However, those same ads make up just a tiny fraction of Toyota’s advertising during non-Olympic programming.
Learn More: Digital Out of Home Advertising’s Spring Awakening — Springing Into Action as Identifiers Coil
3. Not all Olympic sponsors ran Olympic-themed ads. Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Intel, Dow, and GE did not air Olympic-themed ads, even though they’re all Worldwide Olympics partners, the highest level of Olympics sponsorship.
4. Toyota aired the most ads of any of the Worldwide Olympic Partners in the U.S. Even so, they very publicly announced they were pulling all ads in Japan, perhaps because early local public opinion polls found 83% of residents did not support the gamesOpens a new window . They also played it safe, and most of their ads did not feature current Toyota models. Instead, the theme was the power of humanity and the human spirit, brand building over product placement.
5. P&G still likes to make you cry. Procter & Gamble always produces an emotional ad campaign during the Olympics, and this year was no exception. As always, however, they don’t link their ad to their products; they just air the ad and then their logo. While lots of brands try to emulate this, Facebook took it to the next level…
6. Facebook crushed it with one of the most creative and consistent ad campaigns of the event. Facebook focused all its ads on skateboarding to show how its tools can bring people together. One ad shows how a trick has evolved because of people sharing it on Facebook; another shows how skateboarding in Ghana took off thanks to social media. Unlike brands that just want to make you feel good, Facebook also wants you to see the good that comes from its products.
So what else can this year’s best-in-class sports ads tell us about what works? As it turns out, quite a bit. Here’s what the data tells us works from this year’s best Olympic ads:
Key Takeaways for Advertisers
1. Feature familiar faces, but not just current Olympians. Ads for the 2020 Olympics featured Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. Neither were participating in the Olympics this year, but both are so recognizable and such high-profile household names that they still tug on audiences.Â
2. Appeal to how an audience can identify with an athlete. If Simone Biles trusts Visa, then you should be able to trust Visa too. Celebrity endorsements go a long way to instilling consumer trust, especially when that celebrity is a popular role model.
Learn More: Why Small Businesses Don’t Need to Fear the Death of Third-Party Cookies
3. Appeal to consumers’ humanity, don’t just push product. Many of the larger advertisers such as Toyota and P&G went right for the heartstrings. They used emotional ads that are relatable and only flash their logo at the very end. This ad from Toyota tells the story of Paralympic swimmer Sarah Long and only features a Toyota logo briefly.
4. Drive home inspirational and triumphant messages in longer-form ads. Rather than airing just one 30-second commercial during one game, the Olympics has virtually nonstop coverage and programming for weeks. This provides a lot more opportunities for brands to air ads, especially considering the worldwide audience, different prime times, and rotating events. Brands used this to their advantage by airing longer commercials more frequently.
5. Make the ad as scarce as the event. The Olympics only happen once every four years (or five years in a pandemic), so using Olympic-centric content in their ads almost creates a sense of scarcity. A Toyota ad only airs during the Olympics, so consumers pay more attention.