We tested 47 Paris Olympics ads. Yes, they are off the pace

Sport has an incredible, almost unique ability to evoke a wide range of intense emotions. It can make us feel on top of the world and then push us down to the depths of despair – all within just a few seconds. How else can you explain why I cried six times at sports I really couldn’t give a fig about (synchronized swimming!)?

Despite having this deep wellspring of emotion to draw upon, 2024 Olympics ads are well off the pace when compared with previous years.

We ran 47 of this year’s Olympic campaigns through our advanced content testing platform, measuring the positive emotions generated by each ad. We also looked at their overall effectiveness, using our Creative Effectiveness Score (CES) – a composite metric scored out of 10 that combines the three main drivers of effectiveness: attention, emotions and memory.

What we found was a drop-off from previous years. For example, vaulting its way to the top of the podium after generating the most intense feelings of positivity than any of its Paris Olympic ad rivals (53.8%) is Powerade’s ‘The Vault.’

The latest chapter in the Coca-Cola brand’s ‘Pause is Power’ campaign, inspired by US gymnast Simone Biles’s decision to take a break from competing to focus on her mental health during the 2021 Olympics – the ad is a notable departure from the traditional sporting fare. Much slower-paced and reflective, it shows a more human side to sport.

That put it ahead of Coke’s ‘It’s Magic When The World Comes Together’ and ‘TeamGB TeamTalk,’ by UK bank NatWest, in second and third respectively. Spots from sportswear brand Athleta and pet food company Nulo make up the rest of the top five.

However, while a standout performer among this year’s crop of Olympic ads for generating intense feelings of positivity, it would only be joint 10th in the all-time list (alongside Toyota’s ‘Upstream’), behind campaigns such as P&G’s ‘Pick Them Back Up’ and ‘Best Job.’

That means Paris only has one representative in the top 10 most emotionally engaging Olympic ads of all time (just!). The previous Tokyo Games has four. Other Olympics simply packed more of an emotional punch.

But what about overall effectiveness?

Well, it’s first worth pointing out that as emotionally engaging as ‘The Vault’ no doubt is, it doesn’t even make the podium in Paris when it comes to the highest creative effectiveness scores.

It scored 6.8 out of 10, putting it behind more traditional sporting campaigns such as ‘It’s Magic,’ Corona’s ‘For Every Golden Moment’, and Allianz’s ‘Everybody Needs Someone.’

This was largely due to poor brand recall – caused by limited branding and the product relegated to a largely cameo role. It also only attracted the seventh highest levels of attention among the crop of ads for the Paris Games, which could have been fixed with some tweaks to the opening shots. It was good, but with just a few simple changes, it could have been much better.

More interestingly still, it doesn’t even make the top 10 in the all-time effectiveness list, with Coke’s ‘It’s Magic When The World Comes Together’ – the most effective Paris Olympic campaign – the only Paris campaign to make the cut, managing 9th.

So, in an Olympic ad medal table, Paris would be way down the list (so far, at least, with ads for the Olympics and Paralympics still coming out).

To be honest, very few campaigns really stick in the mind, apart from maybe Google’s AI commercial ‘Dear Sydney,’ which it seems will be remembered for very different reasons.

So what does this mean? Well, maybe it’s time for brands to take a leaf out of the sports stars they lionize and show their bravery. ‘The Vault’ may not have scored quite as highly as some of its Olympic predecessors, but it at least shows a willingness to try something different. Something outside of the traditional sporting ad tropes.

You know the ones: the Rocky-style training montages, usually set in dimly lit, frigid gyms and followed by celebration scenes shot in glorious bright, technicolor; the humble journeys from zero to hero; the fast-paced, high-octane sports scenes; and the generic we-can-feel-more-connected-through-sport messaging.

Don’t be afraid to try something different and don’t be afraid to belly-flop into the Olympic-sized pool. In the spirit of the host city, “Vive la difference!” Maybe the Olympic motto should be changed from “Faster, Higher, Stronger” to “Prouder, Louder, Different.” That’s where the gold is.

Continue the conversation with Ian here. Read his previous columns on The Drum here.