As Team Australia smashed its Olympic Games gold medal record overnight, System1 tested how our Olympic ads fared against the rest of the international field. System1’s Jon Evans rates the Aussies as being up amongst the best.
Woolworths has picked up bronze as the third most effective TV commercial for the Paris Olympic Games.
The ‘Fresh Fuels the Best in All of Us’ campaign scored a rating of 4.8 stars out of 5.9, which measures consumers’ emotional responses to the ad’s long-term brand building potential.
The average out of the ads that System1 tested is 3.2 stars.
This placed Woolies in third place globally, behind US retailer Dicks Sporting Goods ‘Big Moments Every Day’, which scored 5.7 stars, and India’s Yes Bank, which engaged the Fresh Food People on the line with 4.8 stars.
There were four Aussie brands in the top 10, not bad for a nation that only contributed 1.4 per cent of the combined top ten nations population (US, India, Australia, UK and France).
System1 said that Team Australia registered most of the top spots – five of the top 15 – by successfully maximising the use of storytelling, talent and intellectual property to deliver emotion-led campaigns. System1 has tested 65 ads.
“In the race for effectiveness medals, the brands that inspire and wow will win the hearts of viewers and build mental availability to drive long-term growth,” noted Jon Evans, Chief Customer Officer at System1. “Team Australia have numerous top performers, showing that hope and community spirit is the key to unlocking gold medals strategy in Olympics advertising.”
Here are the top 10 Paris Olympic ads, followed by the two Aussie brands that didn’t quite make it into the final. Click on the link to read System1’s full analysis, B&T has provided its own one line commentary for what makes each spot – as legendary Olympic broadcaster Bruce McAvaney would say – ‘Speciaaal’.
GOLD: Dicks Sporting Goods (US) – “Big Moments Every Day” – 5.7 Stars
B&T says: Maxing out on the ‘cute kids sporting moments’ vibe, but lost 0.2 points for *controversially* including a non-Olympic American sport – baseball.
SILVER: YES BANK (India) – “Cheer for Team India at the Paris Olympics 2024” – 4.9 Stars
B&T says: Incredible moustache form throughout and who thought the flour used to make chapattis was their weightlifter’s secret weapon.
BRONZE: Woolworths (Australia) – ”Fresh Fuels the Best in All of Us” – 4.8 Stars
B&T says: We’re not crying, just sweating from our eyes out after watching the effort of inspirational Aussies who overcame growing up in the sticks to get to Paris.
4. Aldi (UK) – “Has Kevin Met His Match?” – 4.7 Stars
B&T says: It’s hard not to love Kevin, but using British flag undies to parachute into a stadium is testing our patience. Is Kevin’s ‘Thyme’ in the sunshine running out?
5. AAMI (Australia) – “When Our Athletes are in the Making” – 4.7 Stars
B&T says: More cute kids doing Olympics stuff, but much funnier than the US version, although the Yanks care more about their total medal count than gold, apparently.
6. NBC Sports (US) – “Why is Sabrina in Paris?” – 4.6 Stars
B&T says: We had to look up who ‘Sabrina Carpenter’ was and the result is as inspiring as reviving the blue Twitter bird that Elon killed. Could this be the most surprising high jump effort in Olympic ad history?
7. Qantas (Australia) – “Qantas x Australian Olympic and Paralympic Teams” – 4.6 Stars
B&T says: Similar vibes to Woolies but truly a masterpiece. If Qantas did management like their ads there will be a lot more happy Aussies flying from Sydney to Cairns next May.
8. Rebel (Australia) – “Sport is Calling” – 4.6 Stars
B&T says: The man who swam his way out of drought is a brilliant story of endeavour against the odds, and his Broken Hill dam (after a dust storm) looked a much healthier dip than the poor triathletes who had to battle e.coli in the River Seine. A win, win for Brendan and Rebel.
9. BBC (UK) – “Paris 2024 Olympics | Official Trailer” – 4.4 Stars
B&T says: A Beautiful animation, as you’d expect from the fine folks at the Beeb, but how did they know about Celine Dion’s Opening Ceremony show stopper BEFORE the opening ceremony? Nine’s top brass will be having words.
10. Accor (France) – “Glace” – 4.3 Stars
B&T says: Running ice cream waiter is the Paris Olympics mascot that we all wanted. Much better than that weird red revolutionary liberty cap, Phryge. Next time B&T stays at Accor, it’s a softserve on the go.
And here are the best of the rest Aussies:
Allianz, “Go Australiaahhh” – 4.1 Stars
B&T says: We can’t understand what this has to do with insurance because nobody ever cheers like this when their insurance claim is rejected and/or watered down BUT it’s still better than NBC.
Harvey Norman, “Harvey Norman Proudly Supports the Australian Olympic and Paralympic Teams” – 3.9 Stars
B&T says: I guess it’s more exciting than a Harvey Norman double page spread of specials in the Courier Mail. But still better than NBC.
How advertisers can strike gold
So what makes a great Olympic ad? System1 has crunched the emotions and numbers, and says it is ultimately about entertaining audiences. Here are three key themes from our Aussie top performers:
- Hope helps drive happiness: Brands like Rebel and Woolworths have embraced the reward and payoff of hard work. Offering hope and inspiration aligns with the peak-end rule – ensuring the conclusion leaves audiences with an intense, positive feeling.
- Sport brings people together: Allianz and Woolworths highlighted the power of sport to unite communities, emphasising shared experiences and memories. Themes of togetherness, camaraderie, and compassion emerged prominently in this year’s ads, driving universal and broad appeal.
- Aspiring athletes are the stars: AAMI stood out as a distinctive contender this year, celebrating athletes who, though not competing in the Olympics now, are gearing up for future events. Their storytelling, highlighting the journey and rewards of pursuing goals, uses children to keep the message hopeful and inspiring, portraying them as beacons of positivity and future potential.
