The Olympics and World Cup are great opportunities for advertisers looking to reach a large audience that generally skews more affluent and less male dominated compared to other sporting events.
Being a fiend for the Winter Olympics, I’ve logged some good hours consuming all things Olympics.
Thus far I’d say some of the big winners are Nike and Audi with a face palm for the obnoxious Geico campaign with the slick haired tough guy in a suit convincing you Geico can save you money.
Below is the Nike ad which has a lot of the qualities that Nike always brings to the table in commercials including a great soundtrack, visually compelling, and celebrity endorsements. I think what makes this commercial is the catchiness of the tune (Ali in the Jungle by the Hours) along with a great visual montage of training. Its something that makes an impression and I think using MMA and Rampage Jackson for the pivotal moment in the commercial was a great call that will really resonate.
The other brand that is impressing me is Audi and I’ve heard similar feedback echoing the sentiment.
The two ads they are currently running the most are blow. Audi just seems to really have momentum in addition to being generally disruptive to other higher end auto mobile makers. The ads below have great production quality, show off almost the entire fleet of Audi cars, and plays off the social conventions attached to the ownership of certain luxury cars. From a brand perspective its very effective as Audi looks to get more traction with higher end consumers who may be waning on uniqueness of their current luxury car.
