Gold Medal Marketing: Our Favourite Olympic Marketing Campaigns from Paris

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As Team GB continues to inspire and with Olympics at the forefront of our minds, naturally as marketers we look at the variety of ad campaigns surrounding the event.

Here are some of our favourite marketing campaigns for the Olympics so far.

The Minions at the Opening Ceremony

In a stroke of genius from Gru and the minions, they have hilariously aligned themselves with the Paris Olympics, putting themselves in the middle of one of the most watched events in the world.

Although the minions aren’t known for their sporting achievements, they have done a fantastic job of forcing their way into the event. In the midst of the seriousness and competitiveness, a bit of humour is welcomed for the Frankman team, with a funny take on different events from an accidental pole vault to archers narrowly missing the Mona Lisa. There has been speculation online as to whether the minions are actually speaking a jumbled up version of French! From a marketing point of view, we love this because of the ‘surprise’ factor. When you put something where it’s not expected, it catches attention and gets people thinking ‘what are you doing here?’

It also exposes a whole new audience to Despicable Me, and it’s perfect timing for the recent release of Despicable Me 4 on July 12th.

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My Dream is to End Theirs, Nike

Disruptive, controversial marketing is always something that sparks conversation. Breaking from the feel-good camaraderie and community-based ethos of the Olympics is Nike with their recent ad campaign.

Actor Willem Dafoe, known for villainous roles such as Spiderman’s Green Goblin, commentates peak athletes such as Serena Williams and LeBron James, highlighting the ruthlessness and intensity that it takes to get to the top level.

Billboards around the world include phrases like ‘My Dream is to End Theirs’ and “If You Don’t Want to Win, You’ve Already Lost.’ During an event that has such a key focus on collaboration, they are reminding the world that its not just the taking part that counts – its okay to want to be first. Although some people may dislike the campaign for potentially alienating those who prefer the collaborative and supportive side of the Olympics, aligning themselves with the ‘winning mindset’ will resonate with people all over the world who want to achieve both personal and fitness goals.

This is a great example of market segmentation and targeting a specific psychographic consumer profile. People love to buy a brand that represents who they are, and this is something Nike recognise.

SPRINT - Netflix

Collaborating with The Olympic Channel, Netflix’s SPRINT is a great move to generate hype for the Olympics.

The creative minds behind Drive to Survive, Full Swing and Break Point followed Shericka Jackson, Noah Lyles (now officially the fastest man in the world!) and Sha’Carri Richardson amongst other sprinters, giving an insight into their day to day lives including their training and lifestyle. This is a clever move, building a more personal connection between the athletes and viewers beyond the 10-ish seconds that they usually appear on screen. The audience is likely more invested in certain athletes, therefore more likely to follow their events, tune in and increase viewing figures.

At Frankman we love being inspired by a great marketing campaign, and so many brands around the world have done just that.

We can’t wait to see what the rest of the Olympics has in store and we’ll be cheering on Team GB from our office across the channel in Torquay!