The 7 Winter Olympics Ads That the Internet Loved and Hated |
The 7 Winter Olympics Ads That the Internet Loved and Hated
Some brands rose to the gold medal occasion. Other efforts fell flat with viewers back home.
BY ALI DONALDSON, STAFF REPORTER @ALICDONALDSON
Photos: Walmart; Hershey’s; Comcast; Xfinity; Urumyan Garik Rudiki via Wikimedia Commons
A month before the Olympic torch was even lit in Milan, NBCUniversal announced it had sold out of its entire ad inventory for the Winter Games with more than 100 new brand partners purchasing air time between the action on the slopes and ice. As the official broadcaster of both the Super Bowl and the Olympics—two major appointment television events in an increasingly fragmented media environment where those occasions are becoming more of a rarity—the media giant had an especially attractive pitch to companies. Many of the big game commercials got a longer half life this year, showing up amid ice hockey and figure skating.
Some of those spots landed with the fans cheering from their couches at home, while others fell flat. Per usual, the internet did not hold back and unleashed with the takes. Here were some of the most popular ads—and the least.
1. Walmart showed how greatness starts
Rather than featuring a gold medal contender, Walmart looked back to how those athletic journeys start. The commercial follows a young girl as her parents buy her a pair of skates, and she steps onto the ice for the first time as a voiceover says, “The greats didn’t start out great. They just started.”
The sweet sentiment landed with viewers with one commenting on YouTube, “This is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long long time.”
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2. Hershey’s tugs at the heart
For the first time in eight years, Hershey’s launched an advertising campaign for its signature milk chocolate bar, and after all that time away, the candy brand did not disappoint. Featuring members of Team USA, including speed skaters Erin Jackson and Jordan Stolz and hockey player Hilary Knight, the athletes watch pre-taped messages from their families sharing their biggest hopes for them at the games. Their words of encouragement are mixed with old home videos. When Jackson listens to her family tell her, “Your mother, she would be so proud,” she starts to cry. Viewers say they did too.
“From a former athlete from a family of coaches, this is easily one of the best campaigns I have seen,” one person commented on YouTube.
3. Comcast proves rivals can come together
Comcast, the parent company of Olympics broadcaster NBCUniversal, chose to embrace humor for its spot. The commercial follows fans from rival teams. We’re talking New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics level of hatred, but the sports fans come together over their shared love of Team USA.