If you’ve been watching the winter Olympics recently (which you should be, they’re awesome), you may have noticed a theme in the commercials. Prime time for the games is not just good for watching some amazing sports, but also some really good commercials. They’ve been so good that I’ve decided that the commercials I’ve seen during the Olympics have been better than those at the Super Bowl just a few weeks ago. Let’s look at some of the best examples:
P&G: Thank You, Mom
P&G is a regular sponsor for the Olympics in both the winter and summer, and they always seem to spread the same message: “Thank You, Mom.” This year’s winter Olympics is no different. P&G does it again with pulling on the heartstrings of mothers, children, and anyone who cries easily (me). If you’re anything like me, your mom is always your number one fan, and biggest supporter of any dream. This particular commercial shows the love mothers have for their children not just with chasing their winter sports dreams, but also with their disabilities and even sexuality. If this commercial doesn’t make you want to give your mom a hug, I don’t know what will.
Visa: I Can Do Anything Better Than Me
“Anything I can do I can do better, I can do anything better than me.” This Visa commercial puts a twist on the original song, “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better),” but I like how it works. The commercial focuses on athletes bettering themselves, as in that their only competition is themselves. I like this twist on the regular competition agenda. Plus, it gives some good advice to any other athlete out there – focus on yourself. Every single athlete competing in these Olympics have worked day in and day out perfecting their skills to improve and that’s what this commercial is showing. In order to be an Olympic athlete, you need to believe that you can be better than who you were yesterday.
Toyota: Good Odds
Toyota focuses on the Paralympics in their commercial with the message of defying the odds. The commercial shows different children with physical disabilities training in various sports- and as each clip of a new athlete is shown, the odds of them being champions decreases throughout the commercial. I’m a sucker for feel-good commercials, and this one sure hits that spot. It’s inspiring and heartwarming, and it really showcases what the Olympics and the Paralympics are all about. Though this one aired during the Super Bowl, I’m still not over it.
Samsung: Do What You Can’t
Though this last commercial doesn’t feature anything regarding the Olympics, I love the campaign and I think Samsung is genius for releasing it during the Olympics. This commercial takes you through various situations where people have been told they “can’t”, and the message at the end is to do it anyway. That’s kind of what the Olympics are all about, right? I’m sure many times throughout their lives, athletes were told that they “can’t” do whatever it is that they are doing, and look at them now – they’re doing it. And now I feel like I should probably go do something too even though I have no idea what that “something” should be.
Commercials for the Olympics all have similar themes: inspire, dream, succeed. Even though some commercials that air during the Olympics may not reference the games, it’s usually safe to assume that they have that underlying theme to them as well. The Olympics are an amazing time to bring the entire world together and to inspire fans to chase their dreams. Commercials are just one more way to keep that inspiration alive, and I for one, appreciate it.