Instead of selling soft drinks, financial services, supplements or flights, several Olympic campaigns have promoted the athletes themselves.
Among the highlights, Coca-Cola pushed bottles of its product to the background of its ad, letting Olympic viewers watch South African swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker, her teammate Kaylene Corbett and U.S. competitors Annie Lazor and Lilly King recreate the hug they shared after Schoenmaker’s gold-medal win in 2021.
Plus, Visa’s logo serves only as a diegetic background to the origin stories of Pharrell Williams, Visa-backed tennis star Iga Swiatek, Visa-sponsored Olympic skateboard gold medalist Sky Brown, Visa Cash App RB Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, chef and entrepreneur Roy Choi and artist and designer Gemma O’Brien. Herbalife, which sponsors more than 50 Olympic athletes, placed only athletes in its “Fueling the Best” social media campaign.
Delta Air Lines, meanwhile, released a series of five ads with Wieden+Kennedy that turned its planes and their interiors into the background for athletes’ journeys to Paris, with one spot reminding them emphatically that, through their hard work, “You Get You There.”
“It’s really the athletes that are the heroes here, and Delta is just a small part of that journey to help them get to the Paris Games and everything in between,” said Delta CMO Alicia Tillman. — Jason Notte
5. The Olympics, but make it fashion
It would be remiss of the city that brought Haute Couture, Coco Chanel and the Hermès Birkin bag into the world not to put its fashion prowess on the Olympic podium.
The tournament has its first-ever official luxury sponsor in French luxury conglomerate LVMH. The design group’s house of brands, including Moët, Lous Vuitton and jeweler Chaumet will be showing up everywhere, from Team France’s official kit to the gold medal ceremonies themselves.
Beyond LVMH’s sponsorship, it’s set to be the trendiest-ever Summer Games. Ralph Lauren and Stella Jean will feature on various athlete uniforms. Elsewhere, Dior has partnered with several athletes, including French Paralympic swimmer Alex Portal and Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, as brand ambassadors.
We’ve also seen some fun social work from luxe labels including Jacquemus, which has thrown its hat in the Olympic ring with a video series shot in the French countryside that combines visual sporting puns with immaculate outfits.