Best Ads at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Which were your favorite ads from the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics?

I have a few, starting with technology category brands - Apple, Google, Microsoft.

Apple focused its activity into an outdoor campaign that ran locally in Paris and Marseille, created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, featuring vibrant caricatures by French illustrator Simon Landrein. Along the lines of "Shot on iPhone" Landrein made all the illustrations on Apple’s iPad Pro taking inspiration from Olympic locations, sports and athletes to demonstrate the device's creative capabilities. I love the tennis megaposter, above, that brings to life the campaign concept in a big, imaginative, site-appropriate (note: broken window) way.

Google debuted its new campaign Dear Sydney during NBC’s Opening Ceremony. Featuring track star Sydney McLaughlin, whose world record in 2021 inspired young athletes, the ad centers on a girl whose dreams are fueled by McLaughlin’s achievement. Through her father’s perspective, the spot shows how Google’s AI model, Gemini, helps the girl write a letter to her hero. Set over the music of Eve’s "Who’s That Girl?", the campaign speaks to Google’s commitment to supporting the next generation of female athletes.

Building on its Empowering Us All brand platform, Microsoft unveiled a new spot called They Say, during the Olympic opening ceremony. This new spot by Panay Films highlights the transformative power of Copilot in everyday life. Whether lifting weights while pregnant or running in a senior citizen track race, the campaign suggests that Copilot can empower individuals in every aspect of their lives, work and play.

It was good to see how major tech brands took their campaigns a step forward through Olympics activations.

Apple seems to be operating in a space of its own, while Google and Microsoft are competing head to head on generative AI tools (Gemini, Copilot) aimed directly at consumers and knowledge workers.

Outside of the tech category, a new favorite was from the BBC called Welcome to the City of Love. Set to a track by Edith Piaf, the ad parallels romantic love with the passion athletes have for their sports via an animated film directed by Fx Goby. Collaborating closely with BBC Creative, Goby crafted this tribute to the spirit of the games, continuing the legacy of BBC’s award-winning Olympics campaigns.

OK, so the ads were great ... but how about the media?

Here are some striking facts from GroupM's post-event wrap up report that prove that the Olympics have recovered from COVID.

The Paris Olympics overall averaged 13.93 million P2+ viewers on NBC Primetime, up 9.0% from Tokyo and up 50% from Beijing. (P2+ viewers = people, 2+ years old who viewed via broadcast or streaming.)

Over 175 billion hours of Olympics coverage were consumed across all NBCU linear networks (151.61 billion) and streaming properties (23.5 million).

NBCUniversal reported advertising revenue for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics surpassed the record $1.25B set during the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Who's looking forward to the Milan winter games in 2026?

Please let me know if I missed anything by DM’ing me here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrittenhouse/

Here's a link to GroupM's wrap-up report: https://www.groupm.com/a-recovery-of-olympic-proportions/

Here's a link to The Drum's creative round up: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/07/23/watch-these-gold-medal-worthy-2024-olympics-paralympics-ads-coca-cola-nike-more

Here's a link to the IOC official brand partner program: https://olympics.com/ioc/partners