2. Insight
Report /Special.
Studio Output
London 2012 round-up.
August 2012
This special edition of the Studio
Output Insight Report takes a look at
some of the marketing that took place
at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
From the brazen to the inconspicuous,
print to digital, major sponsors to
sneaky ambush marketers, it gives
you a handy snapshot of who did
what, and how well it worked.
Bright ideas for inspiring brands.
3. Print & outdoor:
Metro covers.
Print played a major part in the run up to
London 2012, with a particular focus on
newspapers and programmes that
visitors to the Games would see first.
The first thing most visitors picked up was
the Metro, and as part of a £2.25m tie-up
with Adidas they put together a series of
unique cover-wraps, with limited edition
prints available at Adidas stores.
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
4. Print & outdoor:
Adidas and Lloyds TSB.
Brands have taken differing views of
the Games, from the empowerment
of athletes to sport across the nation.
Adidas are once again leading the
visibility stakes with brand-led stories
from athletes, celebrities and families –
seeking to play on the fan’s passion
before and during the Games.
Taking an alternative route, Lloyds TSB
have been somewhat more customer-led
throughout the games, with their focus
being primarily on bringing families and
schools into sport and using sport as their
vehicle – quite a clear difference in their
target audiences!
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
5. TV & video:
Adidas.
TV advertising and online content has led
the pack in terms of creative work from
brands and their agencies.
Adidas pulled out all the stops with a
combination of ‘Adidas is all in’ adverts,
some featuring superstars such as Snoop
Dogg and Warren G playing basketball
against Team GB – and UK-based stars
like Tom Daley and Jessica Ennis heroed
in their ‘Take The Stage’ series.
‘Adidas is all in’ – Snoop Dogg & Warren G
youtube.com/watch?v=PyxgwA6PvnI
‘Take the Stage’ – Tom Daley
youtube.com/watch?v=L47_Efa1umI
‘Take the Stage’ – Jessica Ennis
youtube.com/watch?v=Ke1Ilm6joO0
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
6. TV & video:
British Airways and McDonald’s.
Some brands have sought to play to the
passion of the fans a little more,
overlooking the superstars of the
Games to the homegrown audience.
British Airways took a slightly skewed
view for an airline – telling people to stay
at home. Of course, the cynic thinks that
less outbound flights probably allowed
them to service a larger number of
tourists coming in to London…
Finally, McDonald’s showed the ‘Games
Makers’ in the Olympic Park, feeling the
spirit. No real look at the food but we
were a bit warmer inside after watching.
British Airways – TVC
youtube.com/watch?v=M6VzhDE1Wso
British Airways – documentary
youtube.com/watch?v=S-G7ayhPetQ
McDonald’s ‘We All Make the Games’ – TVC
youtube.com/watch?v=aDiDSTJcEyc
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
7. Use of digital:
Coca-Cola and P&G.
Digital has played a major role in many of
the sponsor brands activity throughout
the Games, with many linked heavily to
their TVC and print content.
Coca-Cola took their youth-focused
‘Move to the Beat’ activity and turned it
into an online game, giving fans the
opportunity to create their own content
to share on social media.
On the other side of the coin, P&G
created a ‘Thank you, Mom’ website that
encompassed all their brands, giving
Olympians and customers the
opportunity to thank their mother. It’s
arguably been more successful than any
of their individual brand’s activity
throughout the Games.
Coca-Cola ‘Bring your beat to London 2012’ – game
coca-cola.com/theolympics/en-US
P&G ‘Thank you, Mom‘ – website
thankyoumom.pg.com/thank-you-mom
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
8. Use of digital:
EDF and British Airways.
EDF’s takeover of the London Eye sought to
show London’s Twitter sentiment toward
towards the Games in real time – a risk
some would say (given most Londoner’s
cynicism before the Games!) but a very
interesting use of such a public space.
British Airways built on the ‘Home
Advantage’ concept discussed earlier by
creating a number of digital concepts; from
a ‘social symphony’ that pulls in tweets to
build a song, to a Streetview mash-up that
mixes the BA TV ad with Google Maps.
EDF ‘Energy of the Nation’ – campaign site
londoneye.com/EDFEnergy/
British Airways ‘Home Advantage’ – website
taxi.ba.com/
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
9. Also-rans:
The other London.
Despite Lord Cog’s attempts to silence it,
Ambush Marketing has been prevalent at
London 2012.
Nike led the charge with their ‘Find your
greatness’ campaign, through the clever
use of other Londons around the world
and real-people finding their ‘greatness’.
Nike certainly weren’t alone, as Paddy
Power hit the headlines with their
sponsorship of an ‘International Athletics
Event’ in London, France. A cocky
attempt, but one that was ultimately
caught by Locog and the ASA.
Nike ‘Find your greatness’ – video
youtube.com/watch?v=_hEzW1WRFTg
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
10. Also-rans:
The other guys.
Ambush and surprise marketing wasn’t limited
to those of us on the outside of the athletes’
village and event spaces…
BMW’s Mini brand made its way into the ‘strictly
no advertising’ arena by providing remote
control Mini Coopers to deliver the shot-put,
javelin and discus back to competitors (and
getting some solid TV time in too).
Elsewhere, Beats by Dre headphones were seen
ahead of almost every event after every
Olympic athlete was offered a free pair to wear
over the course of the games. Creative agency
Hanson Dodge found their way into the arena
stencilled on the arm of controversial US runner
Nick Symmonds.
Last but not least, Pasante and Ansell Ltd
entered the athlete’s village with their Kangaroo
condoms – ‘for the gland down-under’.
Insight Report/Special. London 2012 round-up.
11. Insight
Report/Special.
If you’d like to know more about
Studio Output’s work, call Sam Allen
on +44 (0)20 7239 9283 or email
sam.a@studio-output.com
Bright ideas for inspiring brands.
