Only a few days to go before the Olympics opening ceremony and so we get into the Olympic spirit some more! So, this week we asked our experts about their favorite ads relating to a sports event. Here’s what they said…
The sports ad that has stayed in my mind since I first saw it is the Nike’s ad with Michael Jordan talking about his failures. The twist at the end gives you goose bumps and hammers home the reality of what success is all about! It goes something like this:
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots”
“I’ve lost almost 300 games”
“Missed 26 game winning shots”
….and that’s why I succeed.
The ad never talks about Nike, but the association with Jordan and the product is unmistakable and was immediately recognizable as Nike’s name became synonymous with Jordan.
Best Ad relating to a sports event would have to be the NFL Best Fans Ever Super Bowl Advert which integrates some of the most famous TV Shows in our history from some of the
oldest sitcoms to the newest. The reason this Ad works is because of the great editing and the final scene which just ads to the humour. You can find the link here!
As someone who was actually alive when football did come home (that’s 1966 for younger readers), things like losing out on penalties in major tournaments never fails to cause heartache. So I have to point to the Pizza Hut ad which allowed those who failed at said penalties to redeem themselves through humour in advertising – and to bring it up to this week’s Olympics – it even features a young Team GB coach Stuart Pearce. Oh and for totally personal reasons – still can’t beat this promotional video I blogged about last year!
The best ad I saw relating to sport I ever saw was the recent advert for the paralympics on channel four. It conveyed the excitement of the competition whilst demonstrating the dedication of the athletes and the extraordinary skills they’ve honed. It was an advert that told the story of the paralympics, something that has made it very shareable.
As a American native, I am a huge fan of the Superbowl, specifically superbowl advertising. In 2011, the best and most memorable ad by far came from Volkswagen. Their advert features a pint-sized Darth Vader using the force to start the new 2012 Passat. It was successful in that it displays a new feature to the car while also using an emotional appeal to childhood memories. If you haven’t viewed the video yet, I would recommend taking a peak here!
I don’t get time to watch much TV, so I’ve missed a lot of sport-themed advertising this year! But being only casually interested in sport, I like ads that don’t take themselves too seriously and put an entertaining slant on the event. The Budweiser ad campaign for the Premier League is a really good example of a brand turning the tables on the audience and surprising them with a little bit of cheeky irony.
This Adidas campaign was used during the World Cup in 2012 and follows a similar vein – but with some classic British chuckles in there for good measure.
Visa in China also ran a truly excellent ad featuring Jackie Chan for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
To be considered a great ad it needs to pull at the heartstrings and tell an emotional story that is understood and appreciated by all – no matter what or who your favorite sport, team or athlete is. It should celebrate the fans. Showcase sports highs and lows. Inspire. Celebrate the athletes’ dedication and perseverance. And above all, honor the past while showcasing the present and looking forward to the future.
These spots do all of that:
In Canada hockey is everything. Each year Canadian potato chip company Old Dutch holds a ‘Net a Million’ contest during the national hockey championship where one lucky contestant shoots pucks in a net during first intermission to win a million big ones. Through web promotion and tv commercials the contest is almost as big as the national championship itself with fans tuning in to see if a million dollars is ever one…so far no such luck.
If you are inspired by this and want to brief our 20,000+ experts , submit a brief now!
